Delhi Police ASI tests +ve as Capital records 62 more cases and 6 deaths
New Delhi: Doctors will conduct the clinical trial of plasma enrichment technique to treat severely-ill Coronavirus patients in the next three to four days, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday. He said the condition of several COVID-19 patients, who were admitted to hospitals in the last week of March and first week of April, is improving and many of them will be discharged soon.
Addressing an online briefing, the CM said, "If the trial of plasma technique is successful, we will be able to save the lives of serious COVID-19 patients."
Under the plasma enrichment technique, antibodies from the blood of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 are used to treat severely infected patients. It is aimed at assessing the efficacy of convalescent plasma to limit complications in COVID-19 patients.
Kejriwal said the Delhi government had on Tuesday received permission from the Centre to conduct the trial of plasma technique.
Highlighting that some other states such as Kerala and Maharashtra too were working on it, Kejriwal said, "Our efforts will succeed". He further said that sanitisation drives had begun in the city's containment zones and every individual living in there need no be tested for COVID-19.
The government's 'Operation SHIELD' has been successful in Dilshad Garden as there has been no new case of COVID-19 case in the last 15 days, he said. "Due to 'Operation SHIELD', there has also been no new case in Vasundra Enclave in the last 15 days. Also, there is no case of coronavirus in Kichripur," he said.
"With collective efforts, we will be able to contain coronavirus in Delhi," Kejriwal said.
He said 15 lakh people in the national Capital have applied for ration cards and the Delhi government has been providing food to 10 lakh people everyday.
The CM requested the people and media to inform the government if any needy doesn't get food. "The government has arrangements to provide food to 20 lakh people everyday. There is no shortage of food," he said.
Meanwhile, an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Delhi Police on Thursday tested positive for Coronavirus. The ASI's son also tested positive, they said, adding that his wife who works as a nurse at the LNJP hospital here had a few days ago tested positive. The ASI, his wife and their son are admitted at the LNJP hospital, police said. The ASI is posted with the Provisions and Logistics department of the Delhi Police and is a resident of Model Town police colony, said Vijayanta Arya, DCP (Northwest).
City's Shaheen Bagh area, which had remained the centre of a massive anti-CAA protest for nearly 100 days between December and March, has become one of the hotspots of COVID-19 outbreak.
Delhi government included the area in its list of Covid-19 cluster containment zones on Thursday, along with a street in nearby Abul Fazal Enclave and a part of East Ram Nagar in Shahdara. With these additions, the list of Covid-19 clusters in Delhi has climbed to 60.
The Delhi government has set up a team of nodal officers for food, ration, and medical supplies for each containment zone and has distributed their numbers to all the residents.
Meanwhile, the total number of positive cases in Delhi on Thursday climbed to 1,640, with 62 fresh cases and six deaths being reported in a day, according to Delhi govt authorities. With six more fatalities reported, the death toll has jumped to 38. Out of the total cases, 51 have been discharged and one has migrated out of the country, authorities said.
