Delhi ready for up to 300,000 Covid tests, 100,000 cases daily: Kejriwal

The Chief Minister said Omicron was characterised by a fast spread and mild infection and asked people not to panic as the Delhi government was prepared to deal with it

Anticipating a surge in Covid cases driven by the Omicron variant, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said his government has made preparations to handle one lakh patients and conduct three lakh tests daily and ensure availability of enough manpower, medicines and oxygen.

Kejriwal stressed that the latest variant of coronavirus spreads rapidly and claimed that it causes "very mild" infection, fewer hospitalizations and deaths.

Therefore, the government has been focusing on strengthening its home-isolation module and directions have been issued to hire agencies for treating patients in their home, he said.

"We have made preparations keeping these things in mind. We have ramped up our capacity to be able to conduct three lakh tests daily. At present, 60,000 to 70,000 tests are being conducted in Delhi every day," Kejriwal said at a press conference after a review meeting with senior officials.

He said infrastructure has been bolstered to handle up to one lakh cases daily.

At the peak of the second wave, Delhi reported around 26,000 to 27,000 cases daily, the chief minister recalled.

Kejriwal said orders have been issued to hire agencies for the treatment of patients under home isolation and the hiring process will be completed in two to three days.

The capacity to follow up patients in home isolation will be increased from the current 1,100 cases daily to one lakh each day, he said.

"On testing positive for COVID-19, a person will get a call from the government. A team will give them a kit, including medicines and an oximeter, the next day. Thereafter, tele-counselling will be provided till the patient tests negative," the chief minister said.

"What we have learnt from other countries is that an Omicron-driven wave can lead to manpower shortage. So, we are increasing our manpower and creating a buffer stock of essential medicines that can last two months," he said.

Learning lessons from a ferocious second wave that led to an acute shortage of oxygen in the city, the government has also procured 15 tankers to transport medical oxygen in case of a contingency.

According to the Union Health Ministry, Delhi has logged 64 cases of Omicron so far. Maharashtra has recorded a maximum of 65 cases. Telangana has 24, Karnataka 19, Rajasthan 21 and Kerala 15 cases.

A total of 236 cases of the Omicron variant have been recorded in 16 states and Union Territories till now out of which 104 people have recovered or migrated, according to government data.

Doctors at the Lok Nayak Hospital, which has treated the maximum number of Omicron cases (34) in Delhi, said most of the patients are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic.

The national capital has been recording an uptick in the number of daily cases amid concerns over Omicron. It reported 125 Covid cases on Wednesday, the highest since June 22; 102 on Tuesday and 91 on Monday.

The positivity rate which remained below 0.10 per cent for around three months has also crept up to 0.20 per cent.

The city, meanwhile, on Thursday achieved the milestone of providing one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all eligible persons. According to the CoWIN dashboard, 1,48,27,546 people in the capital have taken at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine by 8 pm on Thursday.

According to the draft roll published on November 1, 2021, the total number of electors in Delhi stands at 1,47,95,949.

Over 2,53,37,557 doses have been administered in the city since the inoculation exercise started on January 16. As many as 1,05,10,011 people have received both doses.