‘Plasma therapy helping moderate Covid-19 patients stabilise’: Delhi CM Kejriwal

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said though coronavirus cases in the city are high in number the situation is under control. He said the Delhi government has taken steps to arrest the deterioration in cases by introducing plasma therapy and providing pulse oximeters to patients to help monitor their oxygen levels.

“We’ve increased testing by three times but positive cases have increased by around 3000 per day only. Out of the total Covid-19 patients, approximately 45,000 people have recovered,” said Kejriwal.

The Delhi CM said the government has got the permission to conduct plasma therapy at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital. Since the start of plasma therapy at LNJP hospital, Kejriwal said, the number of deaths has reduced to less than half as compared to earlier.

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“It may be difficult to save very serious patients using plasma therapy, but it can help moderate patients by not letting their condition worsen. This is what we have found till now,” said the CM.

Use of plasma therapy involves injecting blood-component plasma extracted from a cured coronavirus patient into a positive case. The plasma of a cured patient is considered to carry virus-fighting antibodies which boost the immune system’s response to the disease. Plasma is the almost-clear liquid left behind after red and white blood cells and platelets are removed from the blood.

Delhi’s health minister Satyendar Jain, who is recovering from the Covid-19, was also administered the therapy at a private hospital after a pneumonia patch in his lung started expanding.