663 ICU beds to be added in hospitals; restrictions could be in COVID hotspots
New Delhi: Over 660 ICU beds are planned to be added in various city government hospitals in the next few days in view of the surge in COVID-19 cases here, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday.
He was interacting with reporters after visiting GTB Hospital in east Delhi, accompanied by Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain.
A meeting was held with doctors at GTB Hospital and they have agreed to add over 230 ICU beds in the next two days, Kejriwal said.
"In all, 663 ICU beds shall be added in various Delhi hospitals in the next few days," Kejriwal said, adding that "despite such a huge surge in cases, our doctors have managed the COVID-19 situation well".
He visited the facility of the city government in east Delhi to review the preparedness and facilities in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases here.
"In the review meeting held with doctors and the GTB hospital administration, the doctors agreed to increase the strength of the ICU beds by 232, which means that the total number of ICU beds at GTB Hospital will become 400," he was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).
"Apart from this, the Centre has assured 750 additional ICU beds, so around 1,400 beds will be increased across hospitals in Delhi in the next few days," he added.
Delhi had recorded 6,396 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the tally in the national capital to over 4.95 lakh, even as 99 new fatalities pushed the toll to 7,812.
The highest single-day spike of 8593 cases to date here was recorded on November 11 when 85 fatalities were recorded.
"I had sent a proposal to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi yesterday for decreasing the number of wedding guests in Delhi from 200 to 50, which has been approved by him.
"Secondly, due to Diwali, we saw that social distancing norms were not followed in many markets in Delhi. So, we sent a proposal to the LG for the central government to allow the Delhi government to impose local lockdown in the market places which are potential COVID hotspots," he was quoted as saying in the statement.
The chief minister said the Delhi government will observe the COVID situation in the coming days and asses according to that.
"We are not shutting the markets down right now. I was listening to some news channels yesterday which mentioned that there will be a mini lockdown in Delhi, which is not the case. We will observe the situation in the coming days and will assess according to that," he said.
Saving the economy and the livelihood of the people in the city government's topmost priority right now, the chief minister said.
"Unless very necessary, we will not take any step, but we have only written to the central government for now," he said.
Interacting with reporters after the visit, Kejriwal said, "The corona cases have been rising in Delhi for the past few days, but overall, there is a sufficient number of beds in hospitals in Delhi. If we leave some big private hospitals, there is an adequate number of beds available in government and private hospitals. However, there is a dearth of ICU beds in Delhi and we are making efforts to increase ICU beds."
"Firstly, we have to take steps to decrease the number of COVID cases in Delhi, and secondly, we have to provide the best treatment to corona patients in Delhi. I agree that Delhi has the maximum number of coronavirus cases, but if we look at big cities across the world, such as Italy, France, New York, Sweden, the videos that surfaced when there were a high number of daily cases in these cities showed people lying on the roads, and they were not able to avail beds in hospitals," he said.
"At that time, when New York had reported 6,300 cases in a single day, there were around 550 deaths. Our doctors have done a commendable job," Kejriwal said.
In Delhi, one doesn't see people lying in the corridors of hospitals or on the roads, as they are getting adequate and timely treatment, he added.
"I was very touched by the response of the doctors here (at GTB) when they immediately agreed to increase ICU beds for corona patients," he said.
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Court allows 5-day police custody of Bibhav Kumar in Swati Maliwal assault case
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court allowed five-day custodial interrogation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar in the Swati Maliwal assault case, sing the police remand was a "necessity" in the matter.
Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Goyal was hearing the application of Delhi Police which was represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava. The police had sought seven day custody.
It is alleged that Kumar, who is Kejriwal's personal assistant, assaulted AAP MP Swati Maliwal at the CM's residence on May 13.
"Considering the submissions made on behalf of both the parties, I find there is a necessity of police custody remand in the present case. Accordingly, the application moved by the investigating officer (IO) is partly allowed and the accused is remanded to police custody for five days," the court said in its order passed around 12:45 AM Sunday.
It noted the prosecution's submissions about the need to take Kumar to Mumbai and other parts of the national capital to collect evidence, which was not possible without the accused's custody.
"Admittedly, the case is at a nascent stage. Allegations made in the FIR are corroborated in her (Maliwal's) statement recorded by the magistrate on oath and further, it is again corroborated in the medico-legal case (MLC) of the victim or complainant," the court said.
The magistrate also observed, "I am aware of the view of constitutional courts that the opportunity must be given to the investigating agency to complete the investigation in order to reach the truth of the matter but at the same time the rights of the accused are also to be protected."
Asking the Investigating Officer to take Kumar into formal custody, the court directed his medical examination every 24 hours and said the investigating agency would not subject the accused to "any torture."
It also allowed Kumar to meet his advocate and wife for half an hour each during the police custody.
Kumar's application for providing requisite medicines was also allowed.
The proceedings which commenced around 9: 15 PM Saturday saw initial arguments by Srivastava following which the magistrate said, "I find force in the arguments of the APP (Additional Public Prosecutor) that there were sufficient grounds to arrest the accused without notice."
The prosecutor made several arguments, including those mentioned in the remand application and also that the "means or weapon" by which Kumar assaulted Maliwal had to be recovered.
The vehement counter-arguments by Kumar's counsels continued for more than one-and-a-half hours. One of his counsels, Rajiv Mohan, claimed that Maliwal had lodged the FIR "belatedly after deliberation and concoction."
The Delhi Police arrested Kumar earlier on Saturday and his anticipatory bail plea was subsequently observed as becoming "infructuous" by a Delhi court.
