COVID-19 Situation Better In Delhi Than June, But War Against Virus Not Won Yet: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday (July 15) said the current COVID-19 situation in the national capital is better than what it was in June, but the war against the disease has not been won yet. He said had the Delhi government fought the virus alone, it would have “failed” and therefore his dispensation sought cooperation from the BJP-led Centre, NGOs, and other organisations. “Our first principle was that this fight cannot be won alone,” CM Kejriwal said.

Also Read: Fight Against COVID-19: Delhi Gets Its Second Plasma Bank At LNJP Hospital

The chief minister said the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) government will continue its preparations to deal with any spike in COVID-19 cases. Addressing an online media briefing, the chief minister said according to the Centre’s formula, Delhi was expected to have 2.25 lakh cases by July 15, but at present, there are only 1.15 lakh cases.

As the COVID-19 cases had started rising in the first week of June, it was expected that there would be 1.34 lakh active cases by July 15, but till date, there are only 18,600 active cases in the city.

We are in a better situation today, as compared to June, but it does not mean we have won the war (against COVID-19). We have yet to go a long way. There may be a spike again in COVID-19 cases. We don’t have to be complacent. We will not sit idle. We will have to be fully prepared, Mr. Kejriwal said.

The ‘Delhi Model’, which was recently praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is based on collective efforts by the AAP government, the Centre, other organisations and all political parties, he said and thanked the BJP the and Congress for their cooperation. The chief minister said the Delhi government worked on three principles after realising that the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be won alone.

Also Read: Delhi Manages To Control COVID Spike But Experts Cautious, Say Dip In Cases Has To Be Sustained

If the Delhi government had thought it would win the fight against coronavirus alone, we would have failed. Our first principle was that this fight cannot be won alone. Our second principle was that we did not criticise our critics for their views about our work. We improved things after somebody flagged it. The third principle was that we did not accept defeat. Had we accepted defeat, there would have been a surge in the numbers of deaths, he said.

According to Mr. Kejriwal, the government scaled up testing for COVID-19 aggressively and daily 20,000 to 23,000 tests are being conducted in Delhi. He said, “The COVID-19 situation is under control, but we will continue our preparations against the virus,” he said. Lauding his government’s home-isolation policy, he said due to it, people are coming forward in large numbers to undergo tests. He said,

There are 15,500 beds in COVID-19 care facilities. On June 1, we had only 300 ICU beds, but today, we have 2,100 ICU (Intensive Care Unit) beds out of which 1,000 have so far been occupied.

On Tuesday (July 14), Delhi recorded 1,606 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the city to over 1.15 lakh, while the deaths from the disease mounted to 3,446.

Also Read: COVID-19 Situation In Delhi Has Improved, Says Centre; Recovery Rate Stands At 76 Per Cent

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.