Delhi has been recording thousands of new Covid-19 cases daily. Till Sunday, 3,067 fatalities had been reported in the city.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that though the number of coronavirus disease cases has crossed one lakh in the national capital, there is no need to panic.

“Covid-19 cases have crossed 1 lakh mark in Delhi but there is no need to panic as around 72,000 people have also recovered,” Kejriwal said in a digital press briefing.

Listing the work done by his government to check the spread of the coronavirus disease, Kejriwal said, “Out of 25,000 active patients, 15,000 are being treated at home. Death rate has also come down. We’ve also started the country’s first corona plasma bank. Our trials have shown that plasma therapy can help moderate patients improve significantly.”

He also urged the people of the city to donate plasma to help whose who have contracted the disease. “The number of people who need plasma is more than those coming forward to donate it. I urge all those who are eligible to come forward and donate plasma. It will not cause any pain or weakness. Those donating plasma are doing selfless service to society,” Kejriwal said.

The chief minister had said on Sunday that the number of people requiring hospitalisation in Delhi has been declining.

“Less and less people in Delhi are now requiring hospitalisation, more and more people are getting cured at home,” Kejriwal tweeted yesterday. “Whereas there were around 2,300 new patients daily last week, no of patients in hospital has gone down from 6,200 to 5,300. Today, 9,900 corona beds are free,” he said in another tweet.

The Delhi government, meanwhile, announced that the number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in three Delhi government hospitals has nearly tripled. As per a statement by Delhi government on Sunday, ICU beds in the three major Covid-dedicated hospitals in the city - Lok Nayak (LNJP), Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospitals - have witnessed a 169% increase.

Delhi has been recording thousands of new Covid-19 cases daily. Till Sunday, 3,067 fatalities had been reported in the city.

But the rate at which the state’s population is turning positive has been declining steadily, giving hope to authorities that the disease is close to its spread in the national capital. The average positivity rate - the rate at which samples test positive - has decreased to 11.6% from 21.6% two weeks ago.

hindustantimes.com | Edited by: Amit Chaturvedi