No one should die of lack of oxygen: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday that the oxygen situation in Delhi was improving and directed officials to ensure that no one died of lack of oxygen.
The CM chaired a meeting on the Covid-19 situation in Delhi and directed the district magistrates to pay surprise visits to vaccination centres and relief camps to monitor preparedness and convenience for people.He also asked officials to work at vaccinating all eligible people in Delhi within three months.
“Now that Delhi has received oxygen, no one in the capital should suffer any longer. All the hospitals in the city should increase their beds and every district magistrate should arrange new oxygen beds in their districts so that no one died due to inaccessibility to oxygen,” the CM said at the meeting.
Kejriwal also pointed out that any impediments in the distribution of oxygen had be to removed to ensure little or no disruption in the supply of the gas. “The oxygen we get should be used efficiently. We must try to prevent oxygen wastage,” he directed officials. “If we can, we should save oxygen and return it to the central government so that it can be used in some other state.”
The state government is also working on the installation of 48 oxygen plants to boost the availability of the gas in the capital. “As soon as these plants reach Delhi, they should be installed immediately. These 48 plants have a production capacity of 40 tonnes of oxygen,” the CM noted. “This will further help improve Delhi's oxygen situation. We have to prepare long-term plans and build the capacity of oxygen storage on a very large scale in Delhi. We should also create a special capacity for the storage of the gas.”
Kejriwal also expressed displeasure at home isolation patients still not being given oximeters as promised. “In all cases, patients recovering from Covid at home should be given oximeters,” he emphasised.
All district magistrates have been instructed to visit hunger relief centres located in their districts every day to ensure that the poor did not face any problem with fooding and to ensure all amenities and medical care were being provided in shelters, old-age homes and orphanages.
Mindful of experts warning of a possible third wave of infections hitting the capital in the near future, Kejriwal said, “We will be able to stop the third wave of corona from coming to Delhi only by being able to administer vaccines to everyone here as soon as possible. We need to recruit retired doctors, nurses, and medical staff on a large scale and complete the task in the next three months. Whoever wants to help society should join Delhi government in carrying out this work.”