Chances of 3rd Covid wave quite real, preparation on war-footing: Kejriwal

Indications of a 3rd wave coming from UK where corona cases are rising again, says CM

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday cautioned that the chances of a third Covid wave were quite real, and asserted his government was preparing on a “war-footing” to combat it. He said that the indications of a third wave are coming from the UK where coronavirus cases are rising again despite “45 per cent of its population” being vaccinated.

“So, we cannot afford to sit idle,” he told an online event to inaugurate 22 new PSA oxygen plants at nine hospitals across Delhi. He said these plants have a total production capacity of 17.3 MT, and they will strengthen the preparations to fight Covid. As many as 17 more oxygen plants will be started by July, he said.

The Delhi government is also procuring oxygen tankers to aid the fight against a third wave, he said, adding that the previous wave, which in on the wane, was “very dangerous”.

We cannot afford to sit idle and our government is preparing on a war-footing to combat the third Covid wave

— Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM

Expressing gratitude towards industries for their help in fighting the second wave, he also said the people of Delhi came together to combat it with struggle and discipline, and have “succeeded in controlling it”.

He prayed that a third wave of Covid doesn’t arrive. However, he cautioned that the chances of a third wave are “quite real”, and “if it happens, Delhi has to again fight together”. “We cannot afford to sit idle and our government is preparing on a warfooting to combat it,” he said. Doctors, nurses, paramedic staff, sanitation workers, and others played a huge role in the fight against the virus, he said, adding, “I know many doctors who did not go home for days. I want to thank them on behalf of the people of Delhi.”

The national capital recorded 213 Covid-19 cases, the lowest in over three months, and 28 fatalities on Saturday. According to the latest health bulletin, the new fatalities pushed the death toll to 24,800. The positivity rate dipped to 0.30 per cent.