Preparing for worst-case scenario, setting up 37K Covid beds: Jain

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said the city government was preparing for the worst-case scenario in anticipation of the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic and working on setting up 37,000 dedicated beds for COVID-19 patients.

He said this during a virtual session hosted by Assocham India, where a few doctors and industrial leaders also shared their viewpoints on the chance of the third wave.

"Convened a virtual session with @ASSOCHAM4India & discussed Delhi Govt's preparedness to combat 3rd wave of #COVID19. We'll be proactive in our response. We're preparing for the worst-case scenario & are preparing 37k beds dedicated to Covid," Jain tweeted.

The Delhi government has also been augmenting facilities in pediatric departments and child hospitals in anticipation of the third wave, which experts have cautioned that would prove more dangerous for children.

Despite a fall in daily cases in the last several days, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had recently cautioned that the chances of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic were quite real, and had asserted that his government was preparing on a "war-footing" to combat it.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) recently had passed a colour-coded response action plan under which curbs would be implemented in accordance with the severity of the Covid situation here to deal with a possible third wave of the pandemic.

Delhi had been reeling under a brutal second wave of the pandemic, claiming a massive number of lives daily, with the oxygen supply shortage issue at various hospitals, adding to the woes.

Since April 19, both daily cases and single-day deaths count had been spiralling up, with over 28,000 cases and 277 deaths recorded on April 20; rising to 306 fatalities on April 22. On May 3, the city registered a record 448 deaths, as per the official data.

However, the number of cases have shown a downward trend and the positivity rate too has been shrinking in the last several days. The number of deaths per day has also been showing a decline in the last couple of days.

On May 15, Kejriwal had said, "The virus is reducing in Delhi slowly and steadily, and I hope it diminishes completely and does not rise again. However, we are not going to become negligent in any way", while sounding a tone of caution.

On Thursday, the national capital recorded 61 fresh COVID-19 cases and two deaths due to the disease, while the positivity rate slightly decreased to 0.08 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here.

The coronavirus death toll in the city has risen to 25,060, according to the latest health bulletin.

No death due to COVID-19 was recorded in Delhi on Wednesday, while 67 fresh cases were reported with a positivity rate of 0.09 per cent.

This was the fifth time, since the starting of the second wave of the pandemic in the national capital, when zero fatality had been logged in a day.