New Delhi: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said the city government is preparing to set up 37,000 beds for Covid patients in anticipation of the third wave of the pandemic, even as he emphasised that if the positivity rate reaches five per cent again, then a lockdown will be immediately imposed. The city reported 61 new cases and 2 more deaths from the virus on Thursday, with a positivity rate of 0.08 per cent. Active cases rose slightly to 518.
Addressing a virtual session hosted by Assocham India, the minister also said that the government was preparing to combat the pandemic's next wave, assuming a "worst-case scenario".
The city government has learned from the experiences of the second wave, and is taking all necessary measures to combat any potential wave and building all necessary health infrastructure from installing PSA oxygen plants to settings up more oxygen, ventilator and ICU beds, Jain was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Health Department.
Meanwhile, Covid vaccinations in the city have picked up pace in the last few days owing to the fresh stock that arrived for August. On Wednesday, the city administered around 86,000 doses, of which 45,948 were the first dose.
Delhi had five days of vaccine stock left as of Thursday morning, the bulletin said.
Moreover, on Thursday, as per the CoWIN portal run by the Centre, the Capital had administered over 90,000 doses till 11:59 pm.