Delhi ready to handle up to 1 lakh cases a day, says Kejriwal

As Omicron cases rise, the Delhi government has shown its readiness to deal with the possible health crisis in the days to come.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday (December 23) said the state administration has geared up to deal with the challenge. He said the health department can conduct at least three lakh COVID-19 tests per day.

Hospitals in Delhi, Kejriwal said, are now equipped to handle as many as one lakh cases per day, if the situation demands. The Delhi CM said the Omicron variant of coronavirus spreads fast but is, so far, believed to be mild. Therefore, the government is working on the home isolation management protocol, which will make it possible for patients to deal with the infection at home first, thus reducing load on hospitals. “We have hired an agency to better our home isolation management protocol,” he said.

Also read: India records 236 Omicron cases, active COVID-19 tally up to 78k

Explaining the preparedness of the Delhi government, Kejriwal said that as soon someone tests positive, a phone call will be made and the very next day a medical team will visit the person to handover a kit containing medicines and other necessities. The government has made a provision to provide 10 days of consultation during home isolation.

The CM said a total of 15 oxygen tankers will be deployed to keep the hospitals properly stocked.

As on Thursday (December 23), Delhi had 64 patients of Omicron with no serious case so far. The all-India case count stands at 236.

India reported 6,317 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday. With this, the country’s caseload reached 3,47,58,481. India’s active caseload currently stands at 78,190, the lowest in 573 days.