In a controversial decision, the chief minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal has announced that the Delhi Government hospitals will only treat patients that are residents of Delhi. He added that private hospitals, except those hospitals where special surgeries are performed which are not available in other parts of the country, have also been ordered not to admit patients from other states.
‘If we open our hospitals for people from all over the country, where the Coronavirus patients from Delhi will go? Therefore we sought opinion for the public. 7.5 lakh people sent their opinion, and more than 90% said that hospitals in Delhi should be reserved for Delhi residents’, Kejriwal said. He also said that the state govt had formed a committee of five senior doctors, and they said that Delhi will need 15000 beds by June end.
Considering all these, the Delhi govt has decided that the 10000 beds which are available with the government in the state government-run hospitals will be reserved for Delhi residents. Similarly, private hospitals in the city-state will also be reserved for residents of Delhi only. Only the private hospitals offering super-speciality services which are not available in other places in the country like oncology surgery, neurosurgery, transplantation etc will be open for people outside Delhi, the CM said.
Hospitals like AIIMS that come under the central government will function according to the Ministry of Health regulations, and they will admit patients regardless of the residential status. The CM said that the hospitals in Delhi run by the central govt also have 10000 beds, which will be available for outsiders. The order passed by the Kejriwal government will not have any effect on their functioning, he said.
Earlier this week, Kejriwal asked the public for suggestions on whether hospitals in Delhi should treat patients only from Delhi or allow everyone to come and get treatment amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The deadline for suggestions was 5th June, 5:00 PM.
Malls, restaurants and places of worship to open from tomorrow
During the address over the ongoing coronavirus situation in the national capital, Arvind Kejriwal announced that Delhi borders would open from Monday for all states as per the union govt guidelines on unlocking the country. He also said that all malls, restaurants and places of worship would also open in the national capital from tomorrow. However, banquet halls and hotels will remain closed.
Cases in Delhi closing down to 30,000
As per union health ministry data, the number of Covid-19 cases rose to 27,654 on Sunday. Around 10,000 patients have recovered in the capital, while 761 patients lost their lives. There have been allegations on the Kejriwal government that they are hiding the actual number of cases in the national capital.
