Delhi govt suspects community spread, may change strategy to combat Covid-19

A meeting with health experts on Tuesday will help the Delhi government decide if the city has entered the community spread stage of Covid-19, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said.

Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia Monday hinted at the drafting of a strategy for Covid-19 management in Delhi in the light of a possible community spread, even as city health minister Satyendar Jain estimated that the capital is likely to witness more than 56,000 fresh Covid-19 cases by the end of the next two weeks.

A visitor uses a hand sanitizer dispenser before entering a restaurant in Khan Market after lockdown restrictions were relaxed in New Delhi on Monday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

In a video press briefing on Monday, Sisodia said the state disaster management authority’s (SDMA) meeting with health experts, chaired by lieutenant-governor (L-G) Anil Baijal, is scheduled for Tuesday. Sisodia will represent the government in the meeting as chief minister Arvind Kejriwal went into home isolation on Monday evening after experiencing mild fever and sore throat.

“Tuesday’s meeting will help us (Delhi government) ascertain if Delhi has entered the community spread stage of Covid-19. Our entire strategy to deal with the pandemic may change with that,” Sisodia said.

Later in the day, Jain said the current doubling rate of Covid-19 cases in Delhi is 14 days. So the national capital, as per that estimation, is likely to see over 56,000 cases by the end of the next two weeks.

Jain cited the government’s health bulletin issued on Sunday – when the number of coronavirus cases in the national capital crossed the 28,000-mark with 1,282 fresh infections, while the death toll climbed to 812.

“The expert committee, which was set up by us earlier, has said the doubling rate is 14-15 days and currently the city has recorded 28,936 cases in total. So by the end of the next two weeks, it is estimated to rise to 56,000,” the minister told reporters.

The Delhi government has so far appointed two five-member expert committees for guiding government policy on Covid-19 management. While the first committee, headed by Dr S K Sarin, helps the government in multiple aspects, the second one, headed by Dr Mahesh Verma, is guiding the government specifically in its healthcare augmentation plan after the city recorded 1,000 fresh cases a day for the first time on May 28.

The Delhi government has issued an order to constitute a district core team for containing the spread of Covid-19 in the four districts—North West, Central, West and North—where a surge in the number of cases is being reported.

In the past one week, Delhi has recorded more than 1,200 fresh cases a day on average, health department records showed.

Asked about the Delhi government’s decision on Sunday to reserve beds only for residents of the city, Jain said, “Delhi and Mumbai are big metro cities which are facing the brunt of the virus. A lot of outsiders come to these cities, and had flights been grounded earlier, the infection would not have spread so much. But given the situation now, when for the past several days, over 1,000 cases are being reported every day in Delhi, city residents would need more space in hospitals.”

The government’s decision, however, was overturned by the L-G on Monday evening.