Delhi govt prepared to tackle situation if no. of coronavirus cases goes up: Kejriwal

Arrangements were in place to deal with the situation if the number of coronavirus cases went up to even 100 per day in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday.

He also informed that a five-member panel of doctors, headed by Dr SK Sareen, had submitted its report, prescribing the standard operating procedure for dealing with the situation involving 100, 500 and up to 1,000 new coronavirus patients per day.

"We are removing the shortcomings and making preparations to deal with a situation of up to 1,000 coronavirus cases per day. I, however, hope that the number of cases will come down in the coming days," Kejriwal told a press conference here.

He asserted that his government was fully prepared to tackle the situation if the number of coronavirus cases increased.

The chief minister said so far, 39 COVID-19 cases were reported in the national capital.

He said food was being provided to nearly two lakh poor people in the city and the number will be doubled to four lakh from Saturday.

Besides 224 night-shelters, 325 government schools will also distribute food, including lunch and dinner, among the poor and homeless people, Kejriwal said.

He added that the Delhi government will also take care of the people from other states living in Delhi, citing appeals by the chief ministers of several states, including Jharkhand and West Bengal.