New Delhi: Amid a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the national capital, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced that the ongoing lockdown in Delhi has been extended by another week, news reports said. The restrictions will be in force till 5 am on May 3.
“Corona still continues to wreak havoc. Public opinion is also that lockdown should increase. So the lockdown is being extended for one week”, Kejriwal said while making the announcement.
According to NDTV, the chief minister stated that there is 36-37% positivity rate in Delhi, which was not there before.
“Delhi requires 700 MT oxygen. Central government has allotted us 490 MT. But this allotment is not reaching Delhi. Only 330-335 MT is reaching us. This is the reason behind oxygen shortage,” he further said, according to the news channel.
“We will have to watch the situation for a few more days, whether the cases decrease or increase,” the chief minister said.
Earlier this week, at least 20 patients died in Jaipur Golden Hospital in North West Delhi as the hospital ran out of oxygen. Some hospitals have even asked patients to find beds somewhere else, or have started taking consent forms from relatives that they would not be liable if the patient died due to shortage of oxygen.
According to the Times of India, the number of people dying due to COVID-19 in the national capital in a single day touched 357 on Saturday — the highest till date.
According to health ministry data, India logged a record 3,49,691 new coronavirus infections in a day taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,69,60,172, while active cases crossed the 26-lakh mark.
The death toll increased to 1,92,311 with a record 2,767 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am on Sunday showed.
(With inputs from PTI)