Delhi to set up 30,000 oxygen centres to fight covid-19

 Delhi has seen a sharp decline in the number of covid-19 cases and has shifted focus on reducing mortalities due to the virus

The Delhi government will set up oxygen check-up centres in about 30,000 villages to fight the covid-19 pandemic and oxygen concentrates will be made available to those recovering at home, said chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday.

The government has already received a commitment on 30,000 oxymeters, the chief minister said, adding that the village youth would be trained to set up these oxygen kendras. Kejriwal also urged people to donate oximeters to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) so that it can be provided to the villages.

Delhi has seen a sharp decline in the number of covid-19 cases and has shifted focus on reducing mortalities due to the virus. Officials say that early detection of dropping oxygen levels and easy access to oxygen can help reduce mortalities caused due to covid-19.

It may be recalled, in June, Delhi government started providing oxymeters to patients who were recovering at home. Delhi was one of the first states in the country which allowed home quarantine for covid-19 patients with mild symptoms to reduce stress on the health infrastructure. A majority of the patients in the national capital have recovered at home.

Senior officials say the move to provide oxygen concentrators planned under the ‘Delhi model’ to fight covid-19 will help reduce mortalities among patients who have been discharged from hospitals but continue to recover at home. There have been incidents where patients once discharged have seen a sudden drop in their oxygen levels, that may lead to death and easy access to oxygen concentrators will reduce the probability of such incidents.

Delhi’s covid tally stands at 1.52 lakh while 4,196 people have succumbed to the highly contagious virus. As on Sunday, there are 10,823 active cases in the city.