Delhi set for major rise in covid cases amid paucity at hospitals

• L-G office rejects AAP govt’s criticism of his order overturning decision to reserve hospitals for Delhiites
• Delhi will have 100,000 cases by 30 June and 550,000 cases by the July-end, shows government estimate

• NEW DELHI : Delhi could see a big spike in covid-19 cases, which is likely to put the spotlight on the confrontation between the chief minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and lieutenant governor (L-G) Anil Baijal. Kejriwal, who showed symptoms for covid, tested negative on Tuesday.

  Delhi will have 100,000 cases by 30 June and 550,000 cases by the July-end, shows government estimates . This brings into focus the number of hospital beds in the national capital.

  Baijal’s office Tuesday rejected the AAP government’s criticism of his order overturning the decision to reserve some hospitals here only for Delhiites, saying “we are all Indians and Delhi belongs to all". In a statement, the L-G office also said that rather than discriminating among patients, the goal of the government should be to plan and prepare for adequate infrastructure.

  On Monday, Baijal had reversed an order passed by the state government to reserve state-run and private hospitals for the treatment of Delhi residents. Services provided by central and speciality healthcare hospitals were available for everyone.

• The state disaster management authority (SDMA) meeting chaired by Baijal on Tuesday discussed the community transfer and the state’s preparedness to tackle the spread of the virus. Delhi has one of the highest number of covid-19 cases in the country and with the number of cases increasing the health infrastructure is under pressure.

  The Delhi state disaster management committee on Tuesday said there is no community transfer in the national capital, though the source of a large number of cases remains unknown.

  “By 30 June, there will be 1,00,000 cases and 15,000 beds will be needed. By 31 July, there will be approximately 5.5 lakh cases and we will need 80,000 beds," deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia told the media after the meeting.

  The central government authorities in the meeting felt that there is no community spread of the disease in Delhi, Sisodia said.

  Kejriwal, who began showing symptoms on Sunday, did not attend the meeting as he is in self-quarantine and underwent a covid-19 test on Tuesday.

• Later in the day, Baijal also held an all-party meeting to discuss the situation in Delhi.

  “The Delhi cabinet had decided that for the time being hospitals should be kept for residents of Delhi. That decision was reversed by the LG. We asked him about the study he had done but he had no data on the number of cases that will increase because of people coming in from other states. This data is based on the current growth rate. We raised questions on the decision taken by the LG as there are no answers on how the need for a large number of beds will be met. We will make every effort to expand medical facilities," Sisodia said.

  Delhi has about 30,000 covid-19 cases and 9,300 hospital beds. Over the last week, the government has been tying up with hotels to attach them to hospitals and thus increase capacity. In the first phase of unlock India, Delhi has kept hotels and banquet halls closed as they may be converted into makeshift hospitals when the need arises.

• Meanwhile, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said the source for more than 50% of the cases cannot be ascertained. In Delhi, government hospitals see 50% patients coming from outside the national capital for treatment, Jain said. For private hospitals, the figure is 70%, he said.