Move FM Global News

NEW DELHI, India: As of April 18, there were fewer than 100 critical care beds to treat Covid patients in New Delhi, a city of more than 20 million people, according to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The Indian public has since taken to social media to complain about the lack of beds, oxygen cylinders and drugs.

In New Delhi, health officials have recorded 25,500 new coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period. Further, one in three people have tested positive for the virus.

“The bigger worry is that in the last 24 hours, positivity rates increased to around 30 percent from 24 percent … The cases are rising very rapidly. The beds are filling fast,” Kejriwal told a news briefing.

Meanwhile, the New Delhi city government said it has been in touch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about “the dire need of beds and oxygen”, though beds are now being set up in schools.

New Delhi has imposed a weekend curfew. It remains among the worst hit cities in India, where a second major wave of coronavirus infections is raging.

India recorded 261,500 new Covid cases on April 18. To date, India has reported nearly 14.8 million coronavirus cases, second only to the United States, which has reported more than 31 million infections.

Deaths in India from Covid have increased by a record 1,501 to reach 177,150.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come under criticism for his handling of the crisis, as religious festivals and election rallies attended by thousands continued.

Also, India’s government relaxed many lockdown regulations by January 2021, though some regions, including New Delhi and the state of Maharashtra, reintroduced their own set of restrictions.