Coronavirus cases in Delhi near 45000-mark, Home Ministry caps test price at Rs. 2,400
New Delhi/IBNS: The Coronavirus situation in Delhi is worsening with cases nearing 45000-mark and several important politicians testing positive for the deadly virus.
Adding to the list of politicians testing positive for the coronavirus, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain and Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Atishi have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Atishi complained of a mild fever and cough on Tuesday after which she was screened for the highly contagious virus.
The reports of the AAP MLA, who represents the Kalkaji constituency in south Delhi, came on Wednesday showing her having mild symptoms of the virus.
She is presently in home quarantine.
She is the third MLA of AAP to have tested positive for the virus after Vishesh Ravi (Karol Bagh) and Rajkumar Anand (Patel Nagar).
Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain tested positive for the infection on Wednesday, following a negative test report the day before.
He has been admitted to state-run Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital (RGSSH) with high temperature and low oxygen levels.
Get well soon our Health Minister @SatyendarJain ji. U must defeat Corona & recover fast. https://t.co/TxGSO5OeGk
— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) June 17, 2020
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who earlier tested negative for COVID-19, tweeted in support of Atishi and wrote: "Atishiji played a crucial role in the fight against coronavirus. I hope she will recover fast and dedicate her service for the welfare of people."
कोरोना के खिलाफ लड़ाई में आतिशी जी का महतà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤ªà¥‚रà¥à¤£ योगदान रहा है। मà¥à¤à¥‡ उमà¥à¤®à¥€à¤¦ है वो जलà¥à¤¦ से जलà¥à¤¦ सà¥à¤µà¤¸à¥à¤¥ हो कर à¤à¤• बार फिर लोगों की सेवा में लग जाà¤à¤‚गी https://t.co/gIBRrYoNVh
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 17, 2020
AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj, representing Delhi's Greater Kailash area, also tweeted this afternoon, writing: "Get well soon Atishi and Akshay Marathe (an AAP member who has also tested positive for COVID-19), recover soon from corona."
Get well soon @AtishiAAP and @AkshayMarathe , recover soon from #Corona
— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) June 17, 2020
Responding to the tweets, Atishi replied:
Thanks a lot for all the love and good wishes! Want to reassure everyone that I’m doing OK. Am in Home Isolation since I got my test results. Fully equipped with fruit, Vit C and an oxymeter to monitor oxygen levels :) pic.twitter.com/1kCX4eN1EG
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) June 17, 2020
Delhi has been witnessing a massive surge in the number of cases, with over 1,000 fresh infections reported daily for the past few days.
The total tally in the national capital is worryingly inching towards the 45,000-mark, with 1,859 new cases reported in the past 24 hours.
As per the Arvind Kejriwal-government, the number of cases could cross 5.5 lakh by July-end, triggering a problem of about 80,000 beds shortage.
"We may need more ICUs in the coming days. Discussed wid doctors of our Del govt hospitals on how to increase no of ICUs," Kejriwal tweeted on Wednesday evening.
We may need more ICUs in the coming days. Discussed wid doctors of our Del govt hospitals on how to increase no of ICUs. https://t.co/oOsXn2hIku
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 17, 2020
Earlier, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said that in order to meet the requirement of additional beds, Delhi Government is planning to use the auditoriums in nearly 242 schools to set up beds for COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalisation.
Coronavirus tests to get cheaper in Delhi:
The price for conducting a COVID-19 test in Delhi has been capped at Rs 2,400, the Home Ministry said in a tweet on Wednesday night.
It stated that the move was aimed at "providing relief to the common man."
As per the directives of HM @AmitShah in providing relief to the common man. High level expert committee's report on #COVID19 testing rates received by @MoHFW_INDIA has been further sent to Delhi Govt for necessary action. It has been decided to fix the test rate at Rs 2,400.
— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) June 17, 2020
The Home Ministry also informed that time taken to deliver results of these tests conducted via the Rapid Antigen methodology cleared by the ICMR - would be decreased.
Following the directives of HM @AmitShah to increase testing & quick delivery of results in Delhi.
— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) June 17, 2020
From 18 June, Tests will be done via new Rapid Antigen methodology approved by ICMR. Delhi would be given priority for these kits. 169 centers have also been set up across #Delhi.
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