'Delhi expected to have 5.5 lakh Covid-19 cases by July 31'
If the cases kept doubling in every 12-13 days in the coming days, there will be a shortage of beds and Delhiites will bear the brunt, the Delhi deputy CM said, using this as the justification for his government’s order on hospital beds
Delhi is likely to have over five lakh Covid-19 cases by the end of July and 80,000 beds would be needed to accommodate the infected patients, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Tuesday, a day after L-G Anil Baijal revoked the AAP government's order to reserve beds in Delhi government hospitals for its residents.
"Till June 15, there will be 44,000 COVID-19 cases and we would need 6,600 beds.
"We would hit one lakh cases and would require 15,000 beds by June 30.
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"Till July 15, the cases would mount to 2.5 lakh and we would require 33,000 beds and till July 31, there will be 5.5 cases and we would need 80,000 beds," Sisodia told reporters after a meeting that was called to discuss if there was community transmission of Covid-19 cases in the national capital.
The meeting was chaired by Baijal, who is the head of the State Disaster Management Authority, and attended by Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain and officials of the central government among others.
If the cases kept doubling in every 12-13 days in the coming days, there will be shortage of beds and Delhiites will bear the brunt, the Delhi deputy CM said, using this as the justification for his government's order on hospital beds.
"This is the reason the Delhi cabinet had decided to reserve the beds only for the city residents but it was overturned by the L-G. Now, who will take the responsibility if the cases keep on increasing and the beds are full?" he asked.
The Lt Governor, who is also the Chairman of Delhi Disaster Management Authority, had in his order on Monday said that "treatment should not be denied to any patient on grounds of being a non-resident".
Talking about the Baijal's order, Sisodia told reporters that the L-G is refusing to reconsider his decision.
"The L-G refuses to reconsider his decision to overrule Delhi government's order reserving state-run and private hospitals for Delhiites," he said.
Delhi's health minister Satyendar Jain said that of the new cases being reported in the city, nearly 50% are those with unknown source of infection.
Delhi's L-G Anil Baijal has called a meeting of political parties on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the prevailing situation due to Covid-19.
The national capital is among the worst-affected in the country with nearly 30,000 Covid-19 cases till date, as per the Union health ministry figures.
