Delhi to prep for over 45k daily cases, says report
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has reassessed its projections for potential infections during a possible third wave of Covid-19, and divided the outbreak into two scenarios under which authorities are preparing for between 37,000 and 45,000 new Covid-19 cases in the city every day, said documents submitted to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal during a meeting on Friday.
The worst-case scenario in the projections, prepared by the state health department and the Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi), envisions a situation where Delhi adds 45,432 cases a day, as a result of which it will need 944 metric tonne (MT) of medical oxygen. The other scenario projects 36,914 cases per day, and a requirement of 767MT of medical oxygen.
Senior government officials present in the meeting said preparations to curb the impact of the next possible wave include expediting the construction of at least four new government hospitals, augmenting more health care workers, and creating oxygen supply and storage infrastructure.
The officials said they also presented during the meeting two more scenarios, with projections of relatively lower daily infections — 15,000 and 28,395 cases respectively. “But the L-G and CM set these two numbers aside, and directed each department concerned to prepare only for the two worst-case scenarios,” said an official on condition of anonymity. Documents seen by HT showed that the Delhi government plans to arrange at least 36,900 hospital beds over the course of next three months. The focus will be on setting up more ICU beds and will be in addition to Covid Care Centres (CCCs), where patients with mild symptoms can be treated.
Besides, all doctors and nurses working with the Delhi government on contracts have now been given a six-month extension.
Further, Kejriwal on Wednesday announced the government will set up a force of 5,000 community nursing assistants, on the lines of civil defence volunteers, to assist doctors and nurses in patient care if Covid-19 cases begin to surge again.
The national capital endured a punishing fourth wave of Covid-19 infections between April and May that left health infrastructure overrun, overwhelmed medical workers, and led to crematoriums running out of space.
Over 760,000 people were infected in that period, while over 13,000 died of the infection between April and May alone. Cases in the city began to reduce towards the middle of May on the back of a lockdown, which the state government imposed from April 19 onwards.
After the meeting, the chief minister’s office tweeted: “Regarding preparations for the possible third wave of Covid-19, today chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had a meeting with the Lieutenant Governor, in which the action plan and roadmap for future challenges was discussed. In order to prepare for the future wave, a state level Delhi government task force has been formed, the number of health workers is being increased and Special paediatric task force for effective treatment of children have been included in the action plan. Oxygen and bed management, along with arrangement of medicines and vaccination were also discussed in the meeting.”
Spokespersons in the L-G’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
“The proper supply and distribution of oxygen is being worked on. The CM informed the L-G about the proposed cryogenic bottling plant, LMO storage plant and the PSA oxygen plant which has been established in areas across Delhi and will be set up in the coming days,” said a state government spokesperson.