In light of the unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases, Delhi Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Secretary General Vijay Dev and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal will meet on Monday to discuss possible ongoing restrictions, including the curfew.
People familiar with the matter said the lack of oxygen supply had overloaded the city’s health infrastructure.
On Sunday, several groups of traders voluntarily called for the market to be closed and local residents groups called for a brief lockdown to prevent the spread of cases and break the chain of transmission.
The Prime Minister, the Lieutenant Governor and the Secretary General are due to meet on Monday afternoon. The senior official, unwilling to be identified, stated that the meeting’s agenda includes a review of coronavirus cases, the status of medical infrastructure and hospital management, and restrictions, including curfews in the city like those imposed on the weekend.
On Thursday, the DDMA (Delhi Disaster Management Authority) hosted by Baijal imposed a weekend curfew, temporarily closed stadiums, shopping malls, spas and amusement parks and limited the capacity of cinemas and multiplexes to 30% It is also forbidden to eat in the restaurant and to limit the weekly market in the municipality to one per day.
The senior official said that with no immediate decision to extend the weekend curfew, conditions in Delhi would return to normal on Monday morning. He added that what happens in the next few days will depend on today’s meeting of the city.
On Saturday, Kejriwal said if the Covid-19 situation is not under control, he will not refrain from enforcing stricter restrictions.
Dr. Lalit Kant, former head of the Department of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research), said: At this point, Delhi needs strict restrictions. Given the extremely high prevalence of Covid-19, gatherings should not be allowed. The situation has gotten out of hand, the health system is on the verge of a total collapse.
Delhi reported 25,462 cases of coronavirus on Sunday, and the city’s market association said it is considering closing the market to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission.
Although the market associations of the famous Delhi markets, such as Khan Market, Sarojini Nagar, Connaught Place, Lajpat Nagar and Karol Bagh The Chandni Chownk Traders’ Association held a meeting Monday to call for the market to close. She urged all of her market traders to keep the market closed until April 25th.
Sanjay Bhargava, President of Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal stated: We held a video conference with all members and we decided unanimously to keep the market going until April 25th. We asked all traders to close the market. We will review the situation on April 25th and take further action.
The situation in the city is such that such decisive steps must be taken. The most worrying aspects are the high positive rate and lack of oxygen equipment, ventilators, hospital beds, drugs and other medical facilities in the application of the pandemic.
The Delhi Kirana Committee, Chemical Merchants Association and Khari Baoli dealers also decided to keep the market closed.
The Sarojini Nagar Market Traders Association held a virtual meeting to get the opinions of all traders. The President of the Sarojini Nagar Small Market Association, Ashok Randhawa stated: Almost 60% of traders believe the market should close. However, the final decision is still being made to this day.
Traders said they were hardest hit since last year due to the economic impact of the coronavirus. Although they admitted the curfew must be limited or extended for a few days at this point, they added that the government should support businesses.
Atul Bhargava, President of the New Delhi Merchants Association (Connaught Place) said: This will take time. Given the seriousness of the situation, we will convene a meeting tomorrow to discuss this issue. But what we want to say is that The government should support those facing problems due to the economic slowdown and support the trader on the receiving end.
The CAIT (Confederation of All Indian Traders) wrote to Delhi LG Anil Baijal and asked for the city to be blocked for 15 days. CAIT General Secretary Praveen Khandelwal said: Delhi should be closed immediately for at least 15 days with immediate effect. It is true that this will definitely affect Delhi’s business and economic activities, but people’s lives must come first now.
The Resident Welfare Association also called for a lockdown. Atul Goyal, President of URJA (RWAs Group in Delhi) said: The situation is grim. People try to take their loved ones to the hospital for treatment, basic medication and oxygenation, etc. The situation is worse than last year. Currently, blocking for 10 to 14 days is the only solution.
Prime Minister marks Delhi’s “oxygen emergency” and writes to the central government
The chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, called on Sunday that the hypoxia of Covid-19 patients in Delhi was an “emergency”, as his deputy Manish Sisodia believes that the hospital within a hospital will run out of oxygen if the central government does not increase the supply a few hours.
Dell is facing a severe lack of oxygen. Given the surge in cases, Del’s demand far exceeds normal supply. Our normal supply has not increased, but has decreased significantly. Delhi’s quota has been redirected to other states. On Sunday, Kejriwal wrote on Twitter after meeting about evening scarcity: “Oxygen has become an emergency in Delhi”.
Several resident welfare groups and relatives of Covid-19 patients also said Sunday that they were struggling to obtain oxygen bottles and concentrators.
On Sunday, Kejriwal also wrote to Piyush Goyal, the Union’s Minister of Industry and Trade, requesting his intervention, emphasizing that the center is sending oxygen to other countries through a “main supplier” in Delhi.
Kejriwal said: The rapid increase in Covid-19 cases in the National Capital Territory of Delhi has resulted in large numbers of critically ill patients being admitted to various private and government hospitals. This has led to a sharp increase in the need for medical oxygen.
According to the standard formula prescribed by the Government of India, your ministry has proposed an oxygen requirement of at least 700MT. The Ministry of Industry and Inland Trade Promotion, the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of India, announced this on April 17th. A quick response is still required on this matter.
The Chief Minister also stated that most of the production of M / S Inox, the capital’s “main supplier”, has been transferred to other countries.
At this critical point, it will be impossible for the hospital to sign a contractual agreement with the new supplier who has now been transferred to Delhi. This disruption has created serious bottlenecks in large hospitals.
The company accounts for 20% of the total daily oxygen supply in Delhi. A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Commerce did not respond to our inquiry about Kejriwal’s letter.
An anonymous government official with direct knowledge of the matter said: After talking to states, the government finally determined the allocation of 6,177 tons of oxygen, including 1,500 tons of oxygen to Maharashtra, 350 tons of oxygen to Delhi and 800 tons of oxygen to the UP state.
During an inspection of the Covid-19 facilities, Sisodia said: Several hospitals in Delhi are facing severe oxygen starvation. If supplies are not increased immediately, some of them will run out of oxygen in an additional three to four hours. Others run out of oxygen in 10 to 12 hours. Got a review tonight.
For example, Balaji Hospital provides oxygen for 24 hours, Batra Hospital for 3 hours, and Ganga Ram Hospital for 32 hours. This is a critical emergency. We urge the center to give priority to oxygen supply.
At the same time, residents said the supplier already has new cylinders, even if the hospital refuses to send patients away because of inadequate beds.
Greater Kailash 1 resident Puneeta Marwah said: It was difficult to arrange oxygen cylinders or concentrators. Several hospitals have told us that some beds may be vacant in a day or two. But first we have to treat the patients at home.
The GK-1 RWA (Resident Welfare Association) stepped in and provided them with an oxygen concentrator. The association has been maintaining two oxygen concentrators and three gas bottles for coronavirus patients since last year.
Health experts recommend that the blood oxygen saturation of Covid-19 patients is below 94mm and should be hospitalized. However, experts say that many devices should be used to provide oxygen therapy for patients at home if possible.
The head of the Department of Pulmonology and Shalimar Baghs Fortis Healthcare, Dr. Vikas Maurya said: Given the surge in coronavirus cases and the demand for hospital beds, it is recommended that patients receive oxygen therapy at home or receive support until they are admitted to the hospital. An oxygen saturation level below 94 means that there is lung involvement and the patient should seek hospitalization. A value below 90 is cause for concern.
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