The Covid lockdown in Delhi, which was supposed to end at 5 a.m. Monday, has been extended by one week, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced Saturday evening.
Since April 19, the national capital has been under lockdown as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tries to curb a new surge of diseases and a positivity rate that remains above 30%.
“The Delhi lockdown has been extended by one week,” Mr Kejriwal tweeted.
This is the second expansion of the national capital’s lockdown.
The Chief Minister said last Sunday when announcing the first, that: “Coronavirus is still wreaking havoc in the region. The level of public support for a lockdown could rise. As a result, it has been extended for one week.”
This morning, the city recorded more than 27,000 new cases and 375 deaths in 24 hours, marking the 13th consecutive day with more than 20,000 cases a day.
The active caseload in Delhi is now nearly one lakh, more than double the previous peak of about 44,000 in mid-November last year.
The terrifying increase in Covid cases in recent weeks – exactly two months earlier, Delhi announced fewer than 200 new cases in 24 hours – has brought the city’s healthcare system to a halt.
Hospitals are overcrowded, doctors are traumatized, and medications and oxygen are scarce.
After an 80-minute pause in having a fresh supply of oxygen, 12 people died today at Delhi’s Batra hospital. For a related cause, 25 people died last week at Jaipur Golden Hospital.
The center, which allocates medical oxygen based on demand and its own appraisal, had allocated 490 metric tonnes per day to Delhi, despite a request for over 900 MT.
The Delhi government informed the Delhi High Court today that it had only received 400 MT of that total.
As he and Mr. Kejriwal referred to reports of the tragedy at Batra Hospital, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted an anguished request.
“The center told the Supreme Court yesterday that the country produces 10,000 MT of oxygen per day, which is much more than the daily demand of 7500MT. Delhi needs 976MT but has a reservation of 490MT and only supplies 312MT. Why is this so? “he inquired
The fatal shortage of oxygen supplies has been the subject of a court hearing within the last two weeks, during which the center has been grilled about its handling of the situation.
Meanwhile, Delhi will begin vaccinations for people aged 18 to 44 on Monday.
Last month, the center expanded its vaccination program to cover those above the age of 18. Previously, only those over the age of 45 and those working in healthcare or frontline positions were eligible.
