New Delhi:
If the situation demands, all the beds at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital will be declared as COVID beds, said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after his visit to the hospital on Saturday. Slowly OPD will also be ended at the hospital, added the CM. Currently, at LNJP, 1500 beds out of 2000 are declared as COVID beds, while 500 are still available for non-COVID patients.
Kejriwal visited LNJP hospital to review its preparation in the face of the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic that has hit Delhi. He took stock of the situation and the facilities provided to the patients in the hospital.
Briefing the media after the review visit, he said, “The last few days have seen a rise in the number of corona cases in the entire country, including Delhi. We need to simultaneously spearhead an aggressive vaccination campaign and also put in place measures that can effectively contain the spread of the virus along with making the hospital management equally effective.”
“The last wave was in November after which the cases had become so few in Delhi that health system and agencies began to lax. It is imperative that they gain their momentum again and begin to function in the same efficient manner that they did, which helped contain the spread of the virus,” asserted the Delhi CM.
When asked about the vaccination campaign, possibility of a lockdown and preparation of the government in the face of rising cases, Kejriwal said, “I have written a letter to the Prime Minister, in which I have said that if adequate doses of the vaccination are made available to us, if we are given permission to increase the number of vaccination centres and if the age limit is removed then within 2-3 months we can vaccinate the entire state.”
“Once everyone is vaccinated, it will greatly aid us in containing and ending the severity of the virus. According to me, there is an impending need to remove these obstacles that are coming in the way of the vaccination campaign. We are currently in a comfortable position with reference to beds and ventilators. We will ensure that the people of Delhi stay safe, to the best of our abilities. Lockdown is not an option, however we will be putting some restrictions in place to contain the spread of the virus. COVID centres are being rebuilt and some have already started functioning,” he added.
During his review visit to the LNJP Hospital, Kejriwal spoke to a patient admitted in the COVID ward through the video call facility and enquired about his condition. With the help of the video call facility in LNJP, patients can directly talk to their family members.
