CM urges people to take precaution dose, mulls doorstep vaccination

Only 24% of people in the Capital have taken the precautionary dose, but Delhi does not have a single case of the Omicron sub-variant BF.7 and is ready to fight any COVID spread, says Kejriwal, adds RT-PCR testing must in all respiratory cases 

The Delhi government is mulling a door-to-door vaccination drive to increase the uptake of the precautionary or third dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday.

Calling upon the people to take precautionary doses, he said, “Nearly the entire population of Delhi has taken the first and second doses of the vaccine, but only 24% of people have taken the precautionary dose. I have said in the meeting that we should again conduct a door-to-door exercise. I request everyone to take it,” Mr. Kejriwal said.

Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in China and other countries, the CM held a review meeting with health officials on Thursday and said the government is fully prepared to tackle any spread, if it occurs. He added that no case of Omicron sub-variant BF.7 has been found in Delhi at present. “The variant that’s driving the surge in China is BF.7. No case of that variant has been found so far. We are doing genome sequencing. We are also collecting sewage samples from seven places in the city every day and testing them to know the variant in the city. In those samples as well, we have not found BF.7,” he added.

On the preparedness to tackle a possible COVID wave, he said there are 8,000 COVID-dedicated beds in the Capital. “If needed, we can increase the number of beds to 36,000. We have 380 ambulances and have given orders to procure more.” The government will increase the number of COVID-19 tests being conducted. “We will increase testing. There will be compulsory RT-PCR testing for all respiratory cases [coming to hospitals or clinics].”

During the second wave, Mr. Kejriwal added, Delhi faced a lot of difficulty in arranging medical oxygen and didn’t have the required storage capacity. “We now have the capacity to store 928 MT of oxygen. Last time, everyone was looking for cylinders. We have 6,000 cylinders in reserve, apart from the ones available at hospitals. Last time, we also didn’t have tankers to bring oxygen from other States. Now, we have 12 tankers of our own and three private ones,” he said.

The Chief Minister also said the government will increase the number of COVID-19 tests being conducted. “We will increase testing. There will be compulsory RT-PCR testing for all respiratory cases [coming to hospitals or clinics],” he added. 

During the second wave, the Chief Minister said, Delhi faced a lot of difficulty in arranging oxygen and didn’t have the required storage capacity. “We now have the capacity to store 928 MT of oxygen. Last time, everyone was looking for cylinders. We have 6,000 cylinders in reserve, apart from the ones available at hospitals. We had imported those from China. Last time, we didn’t have tankers to transport oxygen from other states. Now we have 12 tankers of our own and three private ones for transportation of oxygen,” he said.