Delhi L-G, CM discuss action plan to tackle possible 3rd wave of Covid-19

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Friday the Delhi government was making preparations on a war footing to combat a possible third wave of COVID-19 keeping in mind the "worst-case scenario" of 45,000 cases emerging daily.

At the meeting, the full action plan and roadmap for a third wave of COVID-19 in Delhi was discussed.

"A presentation inclusive of all the extensive preparedness measures was made highlighting the enhanced healthcare infrastructure that the Delhi government has been persistently building," a statement said.

A state-level task force, more healthcare staff and a special task force for treatment of children are part of the Delhi government's action plan to deal with the third wave, the chief minister's office tweeted.

During the meeting, the L-G and the chief minister also discussed bed and oxygen management, availability of drugs and COVID-19 vaccination, the CMO said.

A full blueprint of the Delhi government's preparations was presented to the LG. The chief minister informed him in detail about the cryogenic bottling plant, liquid medical oxygen storage plants and PSA plants being installed in various areas of Delhi, the statement said.

Experts estimate that around 37,000 COVID-19 cases can emerge per day in a "normal situation" in Delhi in case of a third wave, whereas around 45,000 cases can emerge daily if the outbreak is "very high", the government statement said.

"Therefore, the Delhi government is preparing, keeping in mind the normal and worst-case scenario," it said.

In May, the Delhi government had set up a 13-member committee to prepare an action plan for a third wave of COVID-19 after assessing the current status and projected requirement of the health infrastructure such as hospitals, oxygen plants and drug supplies in the city.

Another eight-member expert committee was set up to devise a strategy for mitigation and management of the third wave of COVID-19.

A task force has been set up to give suggestions on protecting children during the third wave. Two genome sequencing labs, to identify variants of the virus, are coming up at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital and the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in Delhi.

A committee has been constituted to assess the oxygen supply infrastructure in Delhi government hospitals having 100 beds or more, the adequacy of provisions made in the expansion plan and suggest the way forward.

The Delhi government has already installed 32 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen generation plants with a total capacity of 29.77 metric tonnes. Seven such plants with 5.7 MT capacity will be commissioned by June 30 and 15 more with 18.8 MT capacity will be operational by July 31, the statement said.

Ten PSA plants of 10.42 MT capacity will be added by September 30, it said.

Cryogenic bottling plants with 12 MT capacity will be commissioned by July 31. The liquid medical oxygen storage tanks with a cumulative capacity of 171 MT have been installed. Two more liquid medical oxygen storage tanks of 100-tonne capacity are likely to reach Delhi by June 30.

The Delhi government will also train 5,000 youths to assist doctors and nurses as part of preparations for a possible third wave.

Health assistants or community nursing assistants will be imparted a two-week basic training in nursing and lifecare that will start from June 28 in batches of 500 candidates.

The city government is also working on creating a buffer stock of important medicines.