Delhi to conduct 1 lakh random COVID-19 tests in hotspots: Kejriwal

With rising COVID-19 cases in the national capital, Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government is planning to ramp-up testing in hotspot areas across the city.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who addressed a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday (April 7) said, “Administration will conduct one lakh random tests for coronavirus in city’s hotspot areas”.

Delhi government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, G B Pant Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital have been declared as COVID-19 dedicated hospitals.

Currently, 2,950 beds in city hospitals are reserved for COVID-19 patients. The Delhi government will takeover 12,000 hotel rooms in the wake of spike in number of coronavirus cases, Kejriwal said.

“We will give the police phone numbers of Tablighi Jamaat event attendees to trace and ascertain whether they moved in nearby areas,” he said.

Elaborating on the five-point action plan, the chief minister said, “It includes five Ts — testing, tracing, treatment, team-work and tracking — and monitoring.”

Informing reporters that the government has made arrangements to deal with 30,000 cases, Kejriwal said provisions will be made for 8,000 more beds to treat COVID-19 patients. “The government has earmarked around 400 beds in private hospitals for COVID-19 patients. We have prepared detailed plan to take over private hospitals if the number of coronavirus cases rises up to 30,000 in Delhi,” he said.

(With inputs from PTI)