Delhi extends coronavirus lockdown till May 3

The Delhi government will also set up a portal for oxygen availability which will have to be updated by oxygen manufacturers and suppliers every 2 hours

The lockdown in the national capital was on Sunday extended by a week as hospitals here grappled with the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, with some still complaining of oxygen shortages.

Every third person tested for Covid-19 was reporting positive for the infectious disease with several rushing to hospitals for treatment, prompting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to extend the six-day lockdown, announced on April 19 by another week.

As of Sunday morning, Delhi had reported 24,103 new cases in a single day, fewer than the 28,395 cases reported on April 21.

Of the 74,702 samples tested on Saturday, 32.27 per cent had reported positive for Covid-19.

“We will have to watch the situation for a few more days to see if the cases decrease or increase,” Kejriwal said.

The lockdown imposed on April 19 night will now continue till 5 am on May 3, he said. It was scheduled to end at 5 am on April 26 before the extension.

With hospitals facing shortages of oxygen, the Delhi government has asked manufacturers, suppliers and hospitals to update supply and consumption data every two hours on a portal set up by it.

“The Centre has increased Delhi's quota from 480 tonnes to 490 tonnes per day. But, we are yet to receive a full quota. Currently, only 330-335 tonnes per day supply is being received by us,” he said.

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“Allocated 2.5KL every 24 hrs from INOX – required 4.5KL daily. No supply for 71 hrs. Refusal to supply today. Save lives of 119 patients or move them to other facilities,” Saroj Hospital in north-west Delhi said.

Similar problems were also faced by Gangaram Hospital and Jaipur Golden Hospital where 25 and 20 patients had died respectively because of shortage of oxygen over the weekend.