Delhi case surge: Amit Shah steps in again, orders doubling of testing, ICU beds

New Delhi: The Centre has directed the Delhi state government and health authorities to increase Covid-19 tests to more than 100,000 a day from the current 60,000 amid a surge in cases recently.
The decision came after Union home minister Amit Shah met health minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal on Sunday, in an urgently convened interaction.

In a 12-point directive, Shah said the DRDO hospital in the national capital would be used for serious Covid-19 patients, with an additional 250-300 beds. There has been an acute shortage of ICU beds for Covid-19 patients in Delhi. Last week, the Delhi High Court allowed the government to reserve 80% of beds in 33 private hospitals for Covid-19 patients.



Shah also directed the health ministry and the state government to make arrangements within the next 48 hours to provide the required number of BIPAP machines – a small breathing device - and high flow nasal canulas, according to a statement from the home ministry.

“The number of tests will be increased by deploying mobile testing vans by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and ICMR, by temporarily bringing some of the testing labs to Delhi in parts of the country where testing labs are not in use,” it added.

Shah also assured that a 10,000-bed hospital run by ITBP at Chhattarpur will be further strengthened, while some MCD hospitals will be dedicated for treatment of Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms.

At the start of discussion, Niti Aayog member Dr V K Paul made a presentation highlighting the deteriorating outbreak situation in Delhi and urged for increased surveillance, containment measures, testing and necessary medical infrastructure, officials said.

During an hour-long discussion, Shah said doctors and medical staff from paramilitary forces would be airlifted from various locations and brought to Delhi while health infrastructure will be strengthened.

All previously initiated containment measures, such as the setting up of containment zones, contact tracing and quarantining and screening, should not be eased and implemented strictly, he emphasised.

The concerned officers, especially district level officers, will be personally responsible in ensuring compliance and any violation would be viewed seriously, he said.

Shah also directed the Delhi government authorities and the city police commissioner to strictly enforce necessary measures, especially wearing of face masks, so that there was no laxity in compliance with proper Covid-19 behaviour.

The national capital recorded 7,340 fresh Covid-19 cases and 96 new fatalities on Saturday.

The fresh cases were detected through 49,645 tests, including 19,635 RT-PCR and 30,010 rapid-antigen tests conducted on Friday.

The Covid-19 positivity rate in the city was 14.78%, according to the Delhi health department.

On Wednesday, it recorded the highest single-day spike of 8,593 cases and 85 fatalities. On Thursday, it recorded 104 deaths, the highest in over five months. The total number of cases has now climbed to 4,82,170 in Delhi, while the city's death toll stands at 7,519.