'No Community Spread In Delhi Yet, 5.5 Lakh Corona Cases Expected By July 31, Will Need 80K Beds,' Says Sisodia

After attending a meeting headed by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal at State Disaster Management Authority to discuss whether there is community spread or not, Sisodia said that the total number of cases in Delhi will cross 5.5 lakh cases by July 31.

Image: ANI

New Delhi: Community spread of Coronavirus has not begun in Delhi yet, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendra Jain said, citing Centre's officials, even when the cases are expected to cross 5.5 lakh cases in the national capital by July 31. After attending the meeting headed by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal at State Disaster Management Authority, to discuss whether there is community spread or not, Sisodia said "Officers of Central Government were present at the meeting and they said that there is no community spread in Delhi as of now so it need not be discussed,” Citing official figures, he said cases in Delhi are doubling in 12-13 days and going by this rate the total number of cases in Delhi will cross 5.5 lakh by July 31. Health Minister Satyendra Jain said that there is a rapid spread in Corornavirus cases in Delhi and in about 50% of cases, the source of infection cannot be traced, indicating that the community spread may have already begun, despite Centre’s denial. Sisodia shared the following projections regarding count of Covid-19 cases and number of beds required in Delhi:

By June 15	Total cases in Delhi will reach 44,000
By June 30:	Cases may touch 1 lakh, will require 15,000 beds in hospitals
By July 15:	Cases may touch 2.25 lakhs, while the requirement of beds will rise to 33,000
By July 31	Cases may reach 5.50 lakhs, will require 80,000 beds

What is the ground reality about community spread? Health Minister Satyendra Jain who was also present in the meeting, said that AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria has already stated about community spread in India. He said "We can say that (there is community spread) only when Centre admits it... Community spread is when there are cases in which source (of infection) cannot be ascertained... almost half of our cases are like this." He said in the containment zones, cases cannot be traced back to a certain source. “Of all the new cases being reported in national capital, nearly 50 per cent are those, in which source of infection is not known,” he said. Delhi has a total of 29,943 corona cases out of which 11,357 patients have been cured and discharged. A total of 17,712 patients are currently undergoing treatment for coronavirus in the national capital. Also Watch: