‘Covid Tsunami’ In Mid-May In Delhi: HC Questions Preparedness

FILE PHOTO: A healthcare worker collects a swab sample from a woman amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease at a market in the old quarters of Delhi on November 13, 2020

The Delhi High Court on Saturday has taken note of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) assertion which predicted a “COVID-19 tsunami” in mid-May, and said that there is a need to think about how to deal with it.

A Division Bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rekha Palli noted that according to IIT, Delhi’s peak will come in mid-May and it will be like a “tsunami”.

“How are we trying to build the capacity, we need to think of that too,” the court said.

The Court questioned preparations as on date to deal with mid-May and observed that people who could be saved, are being lost.

It said that this is our responsibility to see that those who can be saved are brought back from death and to reduce the mortality rate.

The High Court was hearing a plea by Maharaja Agrasen Hospital and various other hospitals concerning shortage of oxygen.

The counsel of hospitals urged the Court to issue directions for ensuring security to the hospitals.

The High Court recommended provision of security arrangements to hospitals if required and said, “We know how people react when they lose their dear ones…..let’s not have a law and order situation.”

Meanwhile, India’s Covid-19 caseload surged to 1.66 crore with 3.46 lakh new cases in the world’s highest-ever daily surge reported by a country. In another grim record, India also saw the deadliest day of the pandemic with 2,624 deaths; 1.89 lakh people have died so far.

The national capital is the worst-hit city in the country as it has been reporting the biggest daily spikes in Covid cases this month. Delhi on Friday logged 348 Covid-linked deaths – its biggest single-day spike in the death count. The city also reported 24,331 new coronavirus cases.

SOS messages are being sent out by top hospitals, patients and their family and friends amid shortage of medical oxygen and hospital beds.

Hospitals in India have launched desperate appeals for oxygen as the nation’s Covid crisis spirals — India logged over 3.32 lakh COVID-19 cases on Friday, the highest-ever daily count recorded in the world, and 2,263 deaths since Thursday.

India is second only to the United States in the total number of cases reported since the beginning of the pandemic.