Virus in ‘containment stage’, assures Kejriwal
NEWDELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that the novel coronavirus (Covi-19) outbreak was at the “containment stage” and urged people not to hoard sanitisers and masks to fight the virus, which he claimed was not an airborne disease.
The chief minister talked about the steps taken by his government in preventing a coronavirus outbreak in the city during a special one-day session called by the Delhi Assembly on the issues of Covid-19, the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“If you wear a mask, you may touch it and there’s is a fear of getting infected. Only infected people should wear a mask. On a hard surface, the virus stays for about 48 hours, whereas, on a soft tissue surface, it lasts for about seven-eight days,” Kejriwal told the House.
Instead of using sanitisers, you should wash your hands after every half hour, which would be sufficient, he said.
The chief minister said that unlike other diseases, there is no cure for coronavirus yet. “The only cure is spreading information on how to contain the outbreak. We have made all the arrangements necessary to provide adequate treatment to those who need it. I hope that the people of Delhi remain safe, and I hope that all the departments will work in cooperation to contain the outbreak,” he said.
Kejriwal also thanked the Central government for its cooperation in fighting the pandemic. “The virus is still in the stage of containment right now, and we have been able to contain the community spread of the virus.
To date, there are currently 81 cases in the country. I want to thank the Central Government for working in close coordination with the Delhi government and various other authorities to contain the outbreak of the virus,” he said.
Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain urged the Central government to allow private hospitals also to run the testing laboratories.
Since Thursday, the Delhi government has ordered the closure of all schools, colleges, ITIS, swimming pools and cinema halls till March 31 to practice social distancing so that community spread of the virus does not occur. In a separate order, the government has also banned all sports gatherings, including the Indian Premier League, conferences, seminars involving more than 200 people till further orders.
Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, leader of opposition asked the Delhi government to rope in 96 private hospitals, which were given land on concessional rates, to provide free treatment and isolation wards to coronavirus patients.
“You must ensure that they function as per the terms and conditions of the agreement between them and the Delhi government. They should place 5,000 free beds at the services of Delhi government. They must provide free medicines and investigation facilities. They are bound to reserve 25% beds and provide free treatment to 40% patients in free OPD,” Bidhuri told the House.
To this, the health minister Jain said, “Fortunately, we have only six positive cases so far and the number has not increased. We already have more than 500 beds ready for COVID-19 cases. There is no point in preparing 1000s of beds so much in advance. We have made arrangements in such a way that if need be more isolation wards can be readied within a week’s time.”
Bidhuri also suggested that DJB and DTC workers be provided masks and sanitizers to protect them from the virus. “The ATM machines must also be got regularly disinfected,” he said.