Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that oxygen concentrator banks have been set up in every district in the national capital to give a boost to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus patients in home isolation can ask for home delivery of these oxygen concentrators at the doorstep, the chief minister said.
Arvind Kejriwal said in a televised briefing said, "From today, we are starting a very important service – we're setting up oxygen concentrator banks. In every district, there will be a bank with 200 oxygen concentrators. It has been seen that Covid patients often need to get admitted to ICUs when they're not given medical oxygen when needed. Many patients sometimes die. We have set up these banks to fulfill these gaps."
"If any patient – in home isolation – needs medical oxygen, our teams will reach at their doorstep within two hours. One person – aware of the technical know-how- will be a part of the team to help the patient and their families," Arvind Kejriwal added.
Patients who have been discharged from hospitals but still need medical oxygen can reach too.
"Our doctors will be in touch with the patients till they recover so that if they need to be hospitalised, timely action can be taken," Mr Kejriwal said, underlining that any patient can dial up the helpline number – 1031- to get added to the list of patients isolated at their homes.
"However, our team will make sure that you're actually in need," the Chief Minister stressed as reported by NDTV.
Distress messages from Delhi's hospitals for medical oxygen in the last few weeks had caught global attention as the city saw a record spike in Covid infections.
The city's oxygen crisis was also discussed in Supreme Court and Delhi High Court during marathon hearings and the centre was finally told to make sure that the national capital gets 700 Metric Tonne of oxygen every day.
Earlier this week, the state government said the city was finally witnessing a drop in cases.
"Today we have seen a further drop in Covid cases. Delhi reported nearly 6,500 infections as compared to about 8,500 cases yesterday. The positivity rate stands at 11 per cent, as compared to 12 per cent yesterday," Arvind Kejriwal said.
"While we hope that Delhi won't see a surge again, we are preparing from our end. Within 15 days, more than 1,000 ICU beds have been added in the city. Our doctors and engineers have set a precedent," he added.