COVID situation in Delhi very serious; huge shortage of beds, oxygen: Kejriwal to PM Modi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the prevailing Covid-19 situation in the national capital.

In the letter, Kejriwal said that the Covid-19 situation in Delhi is "very serious" and appealed to PM Modi for an urgent supply of oxygen and reservation of 7,000 beds out of the Central government's 10,000 beds for COVID-infected patients in order to tackle the crisis. He also said that currently, only 1,800 beds have been reserved from Centre's side for Delhi's patients.

'Need your help': Arvind Kejriwal writes to PM Narendra Modi

He also wrote in the letter that the above information has been conveyed to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan as well as Home Minister Amit Shah.

The letter comes in the backdrop of a massive rise in novel coronavirus cases in the capital, which recorded 25,500 coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period, with about one in three people tested returning a positive result.

Moreover, Kejriwal also thanked the Centre for re-opening the medical facility near the Delhi airport to treat COVID-19 patients.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has decided to reopen a medical facility. They said the facility is expected to be made operational with 250 beds by Monday. The number of beds will be increased to 500 within a few days of its reopening.

The officials said all the beds will have oxygen cylinders and the facility will have adequate number of ventilators and all required medical infrastructure.

COVID-19 in Delhi:

Earlier today, Kejriwal told a news conference the high number of cases in the capital was a concern.

"The bigger worry is that in last 24 hours positivity rate has increased to around 30% from 24%," Kejriwal said. "The cases are rising very rapidly. The beds are filling fast."

Kejriwal said intensive care unit beds are in short supply, with less than 100 left for coronavirus patients.

The grim situation can only be tackled if the federal government, the city government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi work together, he said.

Nationwide, India reported 261,500 new cases on Sunday, taking the total number of cases to nearly 14.8 million, second only to the United States, which has reported more than 31 million infections.

The country's deaths from COVID-19 rose by a record 1,501 to reach a total of 177,150, the data showed.

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