A high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Monday attributed the sudden surge in Covid-19 cases in Delhi to the festive season, greater movement of people along with laxity in adhering to safe Covid behaviour.
The Home Secretary said efforts will be made for testing, contact tracing and treatment, especially in critical zones of the city.
The meeting emphasised that Metro travel should be carefully regulated as per the strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as Delhi is witnessing a third surge in cases..
“The recent surge in the number of active cases was attributed to the festival season, which has witnessed greater movement of people, accompanied by laxity in adhering to the basic principles of safe Covid behaviour,” said MHA in a statement.
The hospital bed situation was reported to be comfortable with 57 per cent of the 15,789 dedicated beds being vacant, it said. While the new Covid cases and total active cases are going up, the administration is focusing on testing, contact tracing and treatment.
It was, however, highlighted both by the Delhi Government officials and the Delhi Police Commissioner that there has been no let up in enforcement and awareness generation.
The strategy to contain the spread of Covid-19 in Delhi, especially keeping in view the festival season and decreasing temperatures accompanied by rising pollution, was discussed at length with representatives of the Ministry of Health and the health experts, who were also present in the meeting.
It was decided to concentrate efforts in certain key areas, such as targeted RT-PCR testing in sensitive and critical zones such as restaurants, market places, barber shops and salons; gear up the availability of medical resources including beds, ICUs, and ventilators as a preemptive measure and ensure high degree of contact tracing along with monitoring of quarantined contacts so as to suppress and break the chain of transmission, the statement said.
It was also emphasised that Metro travel should be carefully regulated, strictly in accordance with the SOPs that has been issued in this regard, the statement said.
The Union Home Secretary, while appreciating the efforts of the Delhi Government officials, emphasised that the strategies for containment of spread of Covid-19 in Delhi should be strictly enforced and implemented.
Bhalla stressed the need for reaching out to the residents of Delhi to sensitise them about safe Covid behaviour through RWAs, ‘mohalla’ and market committees, public announcement systems, message on police vehicles among others. He also informed that the situation in Delhi would be reviewed again in the coming week, along with other districts of the National Capital Region (NCR).
The meeting was attended by VK Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, Secretary, Ministry of Health, Director General, ICMR, Chief Secretary and other senior officers of the Delhi Government and the Delhi Police Commissioner.
The Delhi Government also made a presentation on the current situation of Covid-19 in the city. The national Capital recorded 5,664 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, taking the infection tally to over 3.92 lakh, even as the positivity rate jumped to nearly 13 per cent. The death toll has risen to 6,562 with 51 more fatalities. Sunday was the fifth day on the trot that the city reported over 5,000 new cases amid festivities and rising pollution in the city. The sudden spike in Covid-19 cases comes amid festivities and rising air pollution level. While Durga Puja celebrations ended on October 25, the next major festivals are Diwali and Chhath in November.