New Delhi: With daily Covid cases on the rise amid the Omicron scare, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said the Capital will now send every Covid-19 positive sample in the city for genome sequencing to identify the variant on the virus. Significantly, he also called for the Centre to allow the administration of booster shots to those who have completed two doses.
Amid the recently seen case rise, the Chief Minister appealed to people not to panic and asked them to wear masks as they are the most effective protection against the virus.
"For the last few days, Covid cases are increasing in the city. Yesterday (Sunday), it was over 100. We don't know what type of Covid cases these are, normal or the Omicron variant. So, to ascertain this we have now decided to send the samples of all positive cases for genome sequencing," Kejriwal said at a press conference shortly after the Delhi Disaster Management Authority meeting on Monday.
The decision was taken at the DDMA meeting, during which the Omicron situation, including its possible effects and steps to deal with it, was discussed, according to him. Delhi has reported 28 cases of the Omicron variant so far, according to sources.
And with 91 new Covid-19 cases reported in Delhi on Monday, the active caseload here came down to 531. No fresh deaths were reported with the death toll at 25,101. However, the city's daily positivity rate on Monday shot up to 0.2 per cent due to the relatively fewer 41,000 tests on Sunday.
Kejriwal appealed to the Centre to allow the administration of booster shots to those Delhi residents who have already received both doses of Covid vaccine. "About 99 per cent of our eligible population has received the first dose and about 70 per cent has been vaccinated with both doses.
"I request the Central government to allow booster doses for all those who have been vaccinated with both doses. We have the infrastructure to administer booster doses. We can start with our healthcare workers and then vaccinate the rest of the population," he said.
Kejriwal also said the home isolation system will be strengthened in Delhi as according to experts the Omicron variant only causes mild symptoms. "We will strengthen the home isolation system as most cases will not require hospitalisation. There is no need to panic in view of the Omicron variant as we have made adequate arrangements in hospitals to deal with any outbreak," he said.
He added that the government has made adequate arrangements for hospital beds, oxygen, medicines and everything else that may be needed to combat the virus.
"We will not let the people of Delhi face any difficulty in their treatment," he added.
At the DDMA meeting, which was chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, it was decided after detailed discussions that strict and aggressive enforcement of Covid-appropriate behaviour, including stepping up enforcement at the field level by police and district administration, will be done, officials said.
It was also decided that restrictions will be imposed on super-spreader events, an intensive campaign will be run to ensure that people follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and to prevent crowding, strict containment measures will be implemented in areas from where cases are being reported, and to ensure renewed adherence to the strategy of test, track and treat, they said.
It has been assessed that 30,000 Covid beds are ready in Delhi. The government will be able to arrange 100 beds per ward on a two-week notice, which will take the total bed capacity in Delhi to over 64,000, according to an official statement.
Additionally, 6,800 ICU beds will also be ready very soon. Medicine stocks are currently being added and home isolation arrangements are being strengthened, the government statement said.
The Delhi government has issued a Covid helpline number — 1031 — to help patients with any problem. The helpline is operational 24x7. The call attendants work in three shifts and can attend 600 to 700 calls.
The government is also focusing on increasing manpower for Covid management to be prepared for a possible spread of the disease. This will include medical, nursing and paramedical students trained in oxygen therapy, Covid management and paediatric ward Covid management.