4th wave in Delhi less serious, no plan of lockdown: Kejriwal

New Delhi: As Delhi reported over 3,500 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the Capital was reeling under its fourth wave of the pandemic, which was less serious than the previous ones but also assertively ruled out the possibility of a lockdown, saying that if any such decision were to be taken, it will be only after discussions with the people of Delhi.

"At this peak, we have seen that the cases have been rapidly increasing regularly and this is a matter of grave concern but one must not worry. The government is keeping an eye on the situation and all mandatory steps that need to be taken, are being looked into," the CM said.

The CM said data from the fourth wave also suggested that mortality rates are comparatively low and the number of people being admitted into hospitals and ICU is relatively low as well compared to when Delhi witnessed its first peak in Covid cases.

"We saw that in October, 3000-4000 new cases came up daily. At the time, there were around 1700 patients in the ICU and today it is around 800, i.e. 50% drop. When at the same time, the mortality rate was 40 deaths per day, today it is around 10-12," he added.

"This new wave is comparatively less serious in the sense that a lesser number of people are required to access the hospitals and most of them are being treated efficiently under home isolation," Kejriwal said.

The CM also urged the Centre to allow states to vaccinate all of its population on a war-footing, suggesting that non-healthcare centres be also roped in to speed up the inoculation process in the city.

"If the central government permits, hundreds and thousands of facilities can be created in community centres and schools and a mass vaccination drive could be initiated," he explained.

However, if non-health facilities are not allowed to vaccinate people then Delhi might not be able to go beyond a certain number, CM Kejriwal said.

He added that his government is paying full attention to vaccinating as many people as possible since the more the number of people that get vaccinated, the more control the government can have over the pandemic.