Arvind Kejriwal discusses opening of 'oxygen testing centers' in villages with AAP's state convenors

AAP's national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday discussed with his party's state convenors opening of oxygen testing centers in villages across the country to give a boost to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

On Sunday, Kejriwal had announced that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will set up centres for testing saturation of oxygen content in blood in 30,000 villages across the country. The chief minister had said he has already received a commitment for 30,000 oximeters from people.

Oximeters help in measuring the oxygen level and are found to be extremely useful for coronavirus patients who in many cases battle breathlessness due to drop in oxygen levels.

On Monday, he told Aam Aadmi Party's state convenors that as citizens of the country, it becomes their duty to protect more and more people from coronavirus in this difficult time.

During the video conference, Kejriwal spoke with party's state convenors, including Delhi unit convenor Gopal Rai and Punjab unit convenor Jarnail Singh among others.

"Talked with all the state convenors of Aam Aadmi Party today and discussed about opening of ''oxygen testing centers'' in more and more villages across the country. As citizens of the country, it becomes our duty to protect more and more people from the corona in this difficult time," Kejriwal said in a tweet.

Kejriwal said in every village an 'oxi mitra' will also be appointed for setting up of oxygen testing centres. "It will be easier to set up the oxygen testing centres in villages where AAP volunteers are working. But, the district in-charges or the constituency in-charges will personally have to visit every village and talk to the people," an AAP statement, issued after the meeting, quoting Kejriwal said.

He said there is a whole process of setting up these centres and providing oximeters. This will also help set up the AAP organization in various regions of the country, he said.

"If this activity happens in every village and region of the country, it will help AAP to send out a powerful message that there is a party, that is ready to help people whenever needed and we will be able to establish a strong organization in every region of the country," he said.

"We need 'Oxi Mitras' in every village and at state booths who will take the responsibility of setting up the oxygen testing centres. The person responsible will put up a board on his/her house which will read 'Aam Aadmi Party - Oxygen Testing Centre'," he said.

Kejriwal said the 'oxi mitra' will create a team of volunteers and visit people residing in villages. They will carry hand sanitizers, wear masks, AAP caps, and they will talk to every person in the village and say, "'We are from AAP. There is a pandemic going on. People are losing their lives because of Corona. We will be testing your oxygen levels to ensure your good health. If you permit, we would like to come inside your home'," Kejriwal added.

They will also distribute pamphlets to the people and if a person is suffering from the symptoms of Corona such as cough, cold, and breathlessness, they must go to the government's COVID testing centres to get themselves tested for Corona, he said.

"But in some states, testing results take time. In such cases, their oxygen levels must be measured so that if it is lower than 95, they should be immediately transferred to hospitals. In this way, we will be able to save more and more lives," Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal told the state convenors not to set up camps as gatherings are banned. "We will require police permissions for that and not everyone will be covered in the process. We have to visit each and every home and conduct a door-to-door survey. I want to request you all to draft a plan for your respective states by day after tomorrow," Kejriwal told the state convenors.

"The plan should have a timeline of how many villages you will be able to cover in how many days, and how many villages will be covered after a particular number of days are over. We have to cover maximum villages and booths. You have to prepare teams in villages where there are no AAP volunteers," Kejriwal said.

(Photo Credit: PTI)