Home-isolated COVID-19 patients to get device to measure oxygen level: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Monday announced his government will give pulse oximeters -- devices that measure oxygen level in blood -- to home-isolated COVID-19 patients, and said the number of coronavirus tests has increased by three times in the national capital.

According to data shared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for Sunday, Delhi surpassed Tamil Nadu to become the second worst-hit state or union territory by coronavirus. The figures were shared by the ministry on its website on Monday.

However, Tamil Nadu on Monday reported 2,710 fresh cases, taking the tally to 62,087. Delhi's Monday figures were not released yet.

As on Sunday, the national capital had reported 59,746 cases, marginally higher than Tamil Nadu’s 59,377. Maharashtra has 1,32,075 cases, the highest in the country.

By death count too, Delhi is on the second spot with 2,175 fatalities till Sunday.

Addressing an online media briefing, Kejriwal said that in the last one week, there was a net rise of only 1,000 active coronavirus cases, which indicates the COVID-19 situation is slowly stabilising in the city.

He said the cases were rising, but the recovery rate was also improving. From June 15 to 21, Delhi reported 18,564 coronavirus cases. However, 16,790 people also recovered during the period. However, if the sharp spike seen in the last week continues, Delhi could well surpass Mumbai to become the city with largest coronavirus cases. For the past three days, Delhi has recorded 3,000 or more cases daily -- 3,137 on 19th June, 3,630 on 20th June, and 3,000 on June 21.

Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court had observed the national capital is heading towards becoming the “corona capital” of the country. Kejriwal said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is getting "enough support" to arrest the spread of COVID-19 in Delhi.

"We will give pulse oximeters to the COVID-19 patients under home isolation. Every district will have oxygen concentrators. Delhi will soon have a helpline and our team will go to the houses of the patients who are recovering from the disease to provide oxygen," Kejriwal said.

The patients can return the pulse oximeters to the government after they have fully recovered, he added.

Coronavirus affects the respiratory system, leading to breathlessness and drop in oxygen level in blood.

The chief minister said that till now, Delhi did not require beds for COVID-19 patients on a large scale as most of them recovered from the disease, adding that the number of serious patients is also less in the national capital.

Kejriwal said Delhi currently has 25,000 active COVID-19 cases, 12,000 of whom are under home-isolation, adding that around 18,000 coronavirus tests are being conducted daily in the city now.

Until a few weeks ago, around 5,000 COVID-19 tests were being conducted daily in the national capital. With the Centre's help, antigen tests, which give the results within 30 minutes, have also been started in Delhi, the chief minister said. He said that as on June 12, a total of 5,300 beds were occupied in all the hospitals in the city.

"6,200 beds are occupied now, which means only 900 more occupied in the last 10 days...7,000 beds are still available.

"This means that the number of new coronavirus patients admitted in hospitals is almost the same as that of the people recovering from the disease and going back to their homes," the chief minister said.

There was some chaos a few days ago as regards availability of beds, he said, while asserting that his government has worked on a war-footing to increase the number of beds in government and private hospitals. Meanwhile, 17 inmates of the Mandoli Jail have tested positive for coronavirus. This comes days after a 62-year-old inmate who shared cell with him died of coronavirus.

Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said among the 29 inmates who were tested for Covid-19, 17 of them have been found positive while 12 others have been tested negative for the infection, according to their reports received on Monday.