New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said L-G Anil Baijal’s order on hospitals accessible to everyone living in Delhi would be implemented amid a political slugfest in the national capital even as coronavirus cases continue to rise.
Kejriwal, who was addressing the media a day after he tested negative for Covid-19, said: “L-G's directives will be implemented in letter and spirit, this is not the time for disagreements or arguments.”
He also asked people to promote social distancing and usage of masks as a people's movement “just like the odd-even scheme”.
Baijal had overturned the decision of the AAP government to reserve Delhi government hospitals and some private ones for residents.
A day after officials from the Centre said there's no community transmission of Covid-19 yet in Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia reiterated that the AAP government is prepared for the worst and were preparing on minimising the damage.
"We have surpassed our infrastructure limit but we are prepared for the worst. The situation is still under control and manageable; damage is happening but we are working on minimising it," Sisodia told CNN-News18.
The deputy CM had earlier said that he estimated there might be 5.5 lakh coronavirus cases in the city by July 31. The national capital will need 80,000 beds by July end, he told reporters after a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).
Sisodia further told News18 that the government's plan was according to specific calculations and they were "matching up to the increasing number of cases in Delhi".
Elaborating further on government's plans, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that considering that 50% patients come to Delhi from outside, the state needs about 1.5 lakh beds by next month.
"I will personally oversee stadiums being turned into quarantine centres. In the last eight days, Delhi hospitals admitted 1,900 people, while 4,200 beds are vacant. Yet we got information that around 200 patients struggled to get beds. We will look into the matter. This is not the time to fight, we have to be together. If we will fight, coronavirus will win," the CM said.
On Monday, L-G Anil Baijal had overruled AAP government's order to reserve Delhi government-run and private hospitals in the national capital for Delhiites. This led to a war of words between the Centre and the state government with Sisodia accusing BJP of "putting pressure on L-G" and Kejriwal saying that L-G's order has created a "major problem and challenge for the residents".
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