Lockdown not an option, we will be putting some restrictions in place to contain spread of virus: Arvind Kejriwal

The city government will release the restrictions in the coming few days, the Delhi Chief Minister said.

Kejriwal visited the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital here, to review its preparation in the face of the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic that has hit Delhi.

The Delhi Chief Minister took stock of the situation and the facilities provided to the patients in the hospital.

Currently, 1500 beds out of 2000 declared as COVID beds, more might be declared as per the future requirements, he added.

Kejriwal briefed the media after the review visit.

When asked about the vaccination campaign, possibility of a lockdown and preparation of the government in the face of rising COVID-19 cases, Kejriwal said, "I have written a letter to the Prime Minister (Prime Minister Narendra Modi), in which I have said that if adequate doses of the vaccination are made available to us, if we are given permission to increase the number of vaccination centres and if the age limit is removed then within 2-3 months we can vaccinate the entire state.'

'I cannot talk about the rest of the country, but according to Delhi governments' level of preparation, if these three pre-conditions are met, we can assure you that all residents of Delhi will be vaccinated within 2-3 months. Once everyone is vaccinated, it will greatly aid us in containing and ending the severity of the virus. At the moment, we have vaccination for 7-10 days and the conditions for administering them, particularly the age limit, are very rigid,' he said.

'According to me, there is an impending need to remove these obstacles that are coming in the way of the vaccination campaign. We are currently in a comfortable position with reference to beds and ventilators. We will ensure that the people of Delhi stay safe, to the best of our abilities,' the Delhi Chief Minister said.

'Lockdown is not an option, however we will be putting some restrictions in place to contain the spread of the virus. We will release the restrictions in the coming few days. COVID centres are being rebuilt and some have already started functioning," Kejriwal said.