In the wake of the new Covid variant Omicron, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday held a meeting with Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, chief secretary Vijay Kumar Dev, along with members of the health department over the health infrastructure of the national capital and its preparedness for the possible next wave of coronavirus in India.
During the review meeting, the chief minister shared the details of the national capital's preparedness in the wake of Omicron stating that Delhi has 30,000 oxygen beds and around 10,000 of these are ICU beds.
In addition to this, the CM said that in all hospitals in Delhi combined, there are around 750 MT oxygen capacity and an extra capacity of 442 MT is being prepared.
Meanwhile, PSA plants have also been set up in Delhi which 121 MT of oxygen, the government has also ordered the installation of telemetry devices on all oxygen tanks to know the availability of oxygen per minute.
Kejriwal further said that there are currently 32 types of medicines that are being used and given for the treatment of Covid-19 while the government has ordered a buffer stock of 2 months so that there is no shortage when it is required.
"We hope Omicron doesn't come to India, but we need to be prepared as responsible governments," the chief minister said.
The WHO has classified the new variant, currently circulating in South Africa, as a ‘variant of concern’. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority has asked the state health department to make sure there are enough hospital beds, medicines, and medical oxygen in the city to battle a possible spike in Covid cases.
So far, no cases of the B.1.1.529 or Omicron variant have been detected in India but the Delhi government has placed the Health and other administrative departments on alert.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop flights coming to India from countries affected by the Omicron Covid variant.
"Several countries have stopped flights from Omicron affected countries. Why are we delaying it? We had delayed stopping international flights in the first wave also. Majority of flights land in Delhi. Delhi is most affected. Kindly stop the flights immediately," Kejriwal said in a tweet.
