Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said his government will impose restrictions, if required, as regards Christmas and New Year celebrations to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 even as he maintained that currently, there is no need for any such measures. He said the Delhi government is fully prepared to deal with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and he is in constant touch with experts over the issue.
Delhi has so far reported two Omicron cases. It reported the first such case on December 5 when a 37-year-old fully-vaccinated man, who arrived in the city from Tanzania, tested positive for Omicron.
The second case was reported last week when a fully-vaccinated individual with a travel history to Zimbabwe and South Africa tested positive for the new Covid variant. "If need be, we will impose restrictions. At present, these is no need for restrictions. We are in constant touch with experts and if any restriction is to be imposed for the safety of the people of Delhi, we will do that," Kejriwal told reporters on the sidelines of an event where he launched the "Dilli Ki Yogshala" initiative.
Asked about possible restrictions or crowd-control measures in view of Christmas and New Year, he said, "We will do that after consulting with experts. If there is a need to clamp restrictions, we will take a decision in accordance with the suggestions of the experts."
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said he has been closely monitoring the situation in the aftermath of the detection of the new coronavirus variant and adequate arrangements, including those related to hospital beds and medicines, will be made available. "The government is fully prepared. I have convened multiple review meetings regarding oxygen supply, beds and medicines. We do not want an Omicron crisis in Delhi but even if it comes, we are prepared," he said.
The chief minister had reviewed the Omicron situation in the national capital at a meeting last week and said his government has readied 30,000 Covid beds and the number could be further scaled up to 64,000 on a two-week notice. In a statement last week, the city government said it had trained a total of 15,371 healthcare workers, including 4,673 doctors, 1,707 medical students, 6,265 nurses and 2,726 paramedics.
They have been trained in oxygen therapy, Covid management and paediatric ward Covid management. The AAP government has also imparted basic training in nursing, home care, blood pressure measurement and vaccination to 5,000 health assistants to be deployed if need be.
The chief minister had directed officials to ensure that a telemetry equipment is installed in each oxygen storage facility for having real-time data on its availability. Delhi currently has a storage capacity of 790 MT of oxygen.
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