Delhi faced the brunt of the second wave of COVID-19 as daily cases went up to 24k and millions lost their lives. The medical infrastructure collapsed under the immense burden of patients and people had to beg for oxygen. Even though the positivity rate and active cases have significantly dropped today, memories of the second wave are still fresh. With the fear of the third wave of COVID-19 looming large, the Delhi govt has decided to take up preventive measures in advance to avoid massive destruction, as seen during the second wave.
Construction of Provisional Hospitals
Satyendra Jain, the health minister of Delhi spoke to Manish Sisodia and sought approval for the construction of 7 makeshift hospitals. Reportedly, the Public Works Department will construct these hospitals in Sarita Vihar, Sultanpuri Kirari, Shalimar Bagh, Raghubir Nagar, GTB hospital, and Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalya. Jain further added, “The hospitals will be completed within the next six months positively and all the concerned departments will be working on a war footing. Though these hospitals will be temporary, they are being constructed from a long-term perspective as COVID-19 is here to stay at least in the near future.” Jain also feels that Delhi has already battled the Delta variant.
The administration is also trying to set up around 37,000 COVID beds, exclusive of the ones in COVID health centres. Of the 37,000 beds, 12,000 will be ICU beds. In the second wave, the Delhi govt had prepared 22,000-23,000 beds, out of which 6,000 were ICU beds. “This time we have doubled the number of the ICU beds and have added more beds overall as well. Along with this, the Delhi government has also started a graded response system,” Jain said.
Colour-coded Action Plan / Graded Response Action Plan to Battle Third Wave of COVID-19
The graded response action plan classifies the magnitude of the pandemic into four colours – yellow, amber, orange and red. This is what the given colours will represent:
- Yellow – Yellow represents level 1 alert. The level-1 alert will come into force if the positivity rate crosses 0.5% for two consecutive days or fresh cases rise to 1,500 or if 500 oxygen beds get occupied.
- Amber – Amber represents level 2 alert. The level-2 alert will come into force if the positivity rate exceeds 1% or fresh cases rise to 3,500 or if 700 oxygen beds get occupied.
- Orange – Orange represents level 3 alert. The level-3 alert will come into force if the positivity rate surpasses 2% or fresh cases rise to 9,000 or if 1,000 oxygen beds are occupied.
- Red – Red represents the highest level of alert. It will be sounded if the positivity rate crosses 5% or daily cases rise to 16,000 or if 3,000 oxygen beds get occupied.
An increase in the level of alerts will invite more curbs and restrictions in an area. The detection of orange or level 3 alert will put a halt to many economic and social activities including public transportation, private offices and malls. The DDMA has also directed the concerned authorities to take necessary steps towards the compliance of GRAP in their areas.
CURRENT REPORT ON DELHI’S COVID-19 CASES
Glad tidings seem to be in store for the inhabitants of Delhi. The national capital recorded zero COVID-19 death on August 11, 2021. Delhi also witnessed a lesser number of fresh cases on the same day, with the cases numbering 39. Similarly, the positivity rate has come down to 0.06%. The number of active cases has also decreased and on August 11, stood at 494.
