The total number of coronavirus cases in Delhi has risen to 384 — third highest in India — including 259 who were evacuated from Nizamuddin Markaz, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday.
Citing health bulletin report on coronavirus, the CM said Delhi has 384 positive cases, out of which 58 patients have a history of foreign travel while 259 patients are from the Markaz event and 38 cases are of the nature of local transmission from foreign travel.
91 new positive cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
The CM also announced the COVID-19 WhatsApp helpline number to provide credible information at 8800007722.
In Noida, a 55-year-old man and his son tested positive for coronavirus here on Friday, taking the total number of cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar to 50, officials said.
“The two new patients are a man (55) and his son (25) from Sector 93B in Noida,” a Health official said.
Two other people who had earlier tested positive for COVID-19 were discharged from hospitals after treatment, taking the total number of cured patients to eight, the officials said.
They added that the total number of active cases now stands at 42 in the district. Gautam Buddh Nagar adjoining Delhi in western Uttar Pradesh is one of the hotspots for coronavirus in India and in the State.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal said the situation of corona outbreak in Delhi is under control. The national Capital reported a total of five corona deaths, one new death of the patient, who was taken out of the Markaz, has been reported in the last 24 hours.
“Information on HRCs, COVID-19 symptoms, measures taken by the Delhi Government to deal with the pandemic and all other information can be gathered from this number,” he said.
Urging people to follow lockdown, he said efforts of the Delhi Government, the Central Government and the people have been able to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Delhi, as a result of which the cases of local transmission have been just 38.
He said out of all the patients who have been admitted to the hospitals, two patients have been put on a ventilator, and the rest of the patients are stable.
“The COVID-19 lockdown announced by the Prime Minister should be followed strictly. We have to learn from other nations and follow social distancing and lockdown norms stringently,” Kejriwal said.
“I am holding regular meetings with the health department of Delhi and the doctors. God forbid, if there is an outbreak of corona, we are fully prepared to handle the situation,” he said.
Lauding the AAP’s effort, he said the Delhi Government has taken several measures to provide relief to the marginalised, who have been affected by the lockdown the most. “72 lakh people are being provided 7.5 kg ration each at our distribution shops and around 60 per cent of people have already received ration and the remaining will receive soon. We have also devised a scheme to provide ration to those who do not have ration cards, and in a few days, we will start providing ration to them as well,” Kejriwal said.
He said, “Around 8 lakh senior citizens, widows, and differently-abled have received Rs 5,000 as under the different pension schemes. Rs 5,000 will further be provided to them in the next week, or in another 10-15 days. Construction workers have also been provided Rs 5,000 as relief assistance and all the public service vehicle drivers, including auto-rickshaws, e-rickshaws, gramin-sewas, RTVs, etc, will also be provided relief assistance of Rs 5,000 each.”
“To ensure no person in Delhi goes hungry, 1780 HRCs have been opened in Delhi, and lunch and dinner are being provided at these HRCs. Yesterday, these 1780 HRCs provided lunch for 6,52,850 people and dinner for 6,30,000 people. 328 shelters have been opened in Delhi for migrant laborers and people from outside Delhi. These shelters can accommodate 57,270 people, and 11443 people are living in these shelters,” he added.
Kejriwal, Education Minister Manish Sisodia and experts will interact with the 44 lakhs students of Delhi on Saturday at 3pm. These students are studying in Government, private and MCD schools.
“Our Government and private schools have around 44 lakh students, and I am sure they have a lot of questions now that they are sitting in their homes. Tomorrow at 3 pm, I, Manish Sisodia, and a few experts will interact with all students and parents of Delhi. Children have too many questions about corona, its symptoms and nature. We will address the children and parents on ‘parenting in the times of corona’ and try to answer all the questions,” Kejriwal said.