Third-Wave can only be prevented by wearing masks :Satyendar Jain

New Delhi, July 13, 2021 :

Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday stated that COVID-19 cases have come down sharply in Delhi with only 45 cases being recorded on Monday. This figure is the lowest number recorded in 15 months. There are 693 active cases in the city at present, with the positivity rate being less than 1%. Talking about the vaccination programme of the state, Jain said that Delhi can administer three to four lac doses a day but if forced to shut down vaccination centres as enough vaccines are not being supplied to the state.

He added that Delhi is vaccinating maximum people it can as per the stocks and can’t function like Haryana and slowly vaccinate people to hoard on vaccine stocks. The Health Minister again reinforced that even though the cases have come down sharply, it is essential to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour and wear masks in order to prevent the onset of a third wave.

Health Minister Satyendar Jain said, “There were 45 Covid positive cases in Delhi on Monday, which is the lowest in 15 months. There are 693 active cases and the positivity rate is below 1 per cent at present. COVID cases have come down sharply in Delhi but I still urge people to take complete precautions and wear masks at all times.”

“There is a shortage of vaccines in Delhi. We received a small stock of 1.5 lac of Covishield vaccines on Monday night which shall last till Tuesday. This in effect will again cause the centres to shut after the stock gets finished on Tuesday. We have at the max around 1.68 lac vaccines which would not last beyond Tuesday or one half of Wednesday. We have to shut down vaccination centres because of a lack of vaccines. We have the capability to administer three to four lac vaccine doses a day,” Satyendar Jain said, talking about the state’s vaccination programme.

“We are fully prepared to vaccinate people, but there’s a lack of vaccines which halts our otherwise smooth going vaccination programme. We can’t function like Haryana and slowly vaccinate people to hoard on stocks. We are vaccinating the maximum number of people as and when we are receiving the vaccines,” he added.

Addressing the question of the onset of the third wave, the health minister said that “I believe we can prevent the third wave if people abide by COVID norms. We saw a similar situation back in January-February when people thought that the cases had come down sharply. These are not the times to assume that cases have gone down so they won’t rise back. We have to keep it in our minds that the cases can rise back. As long as COVID-19 cases exist in the public the virus can spread around. The only prevention from this situation is wearing a mask. The moment you step out of the house or go to meet someone, always wear a mask.”

Replying to UP CM’s allegations, the Satyendar Jain said that during the COVID peak Delhi’s hospitals saw at least 25% of the beds being occupied by those from outside Delhi, everyone received free treatment in Delhi.

“Even today when we are seeing a handful of admissions 25-30% of them belong to areas outside of Delhi. We all know there was a shortage of oxygen in Delhi. The media was reporting on it live; they weren’t lying. There was a clear shortage. We needed oxygen, so we asked for it. If we need it again, we will ask for it again.”

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