Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will address an important press conference today amid the alarming spike in coronavirus cases in the national capital. The Delhi Chief Minister is expected to impose a seven-day curfew in the city-state till next Monday. This comes a day after Delhi reported its highest-ever single-day spike of over 25,000 COVID-19 infections.
The Delhi government had last week announced a weekend curfew in the national capital from 10 pm on April 16 till 6 am on April 19, and the closure of malls, gymnasiums and auditoriums till April 30 as part of sweeping restrictions to break the chain of the COVID-19 infection in the city.
On Sunday, Kejriwal said Delhi was facing an “acute shortage” of oxygen for COVID-19 patients and alleged that the quota of the city has been diverted to other states. The chief minister’s remarks came hours after he wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his help in enhancing the number of hospital beds and immediate oxygen supply for patients in Delhi.
While announcing the weekend curfew in the national capital, the chief minister had said that the pandemic situation in the city has become “very serious and worrisome”, with oxygen stock, and Remdesivir and Tocilizumab drugs for patients in short supply. He said the number of beds are also running out fast and the Delhi government is trying to escalate beds on a large scale in the coming days.
The city wore a deserted look on Saturday and Sunday as all the public places and major markets remained closed. Among the places that remained busy throughout the weekend curfew were the city hospitals and cremation grounds as scores of ambulances and other vehicles ferrying patients rushed in and out.
The national capital reported 25,462 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the highest single-day spike in the city till date, according to data shared by the Health Department. The city also reported 161 deaths, while the positivity rate shot up to 29.74 per cent, also the highest so far.