2 more coronavirus deaths in Delhi, total positive 386; Kejriwal asks people not to panic

New Delhi, Apr 03: Two more coronavirus deaths were reported in Delhi on Friday and the total number of cases rose to 386 even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked people not to panic saying there is no community spread of the virus.

He said his government is making all arrangements to check the spread of the disease among people. Of the 386 cases, 259 are linked to those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz here last month, the Chief Minister's Office tweeted.

It also said that 58 people had recent foreign travel history and 38 contracted the virus after coming in contact with them. There were 93 new positive cases. Two more patients died due to coronavirus, taking the death toll to six, the CMO said.

Of the six, three are linked to the markaz. "The community spread of the virus is not taking place in Delhi yet and there is no need to panic as the situation is under control," Kejriwal said during an online briefing.

The Tablighi Jamaat's Nizamuddin markaz has emerged as a major hotspot of coronavirus that led to proliferation of cases not only in Delhi but also across the country. Doctors from various hospitals in the national capital, where the members of Tablighi Jamaat are admitted, have complained to the Delhi government that those from the religious organisation undergoing treatment are not cooperating with the medical staff, sources said.

The government also deferred using the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium as a quarantine facility as the authorities believe the spread of the infection is under control in the national capital. On March 30, Southeast District Magistrate Harleen Kaur had issued an order asking the Sports Authority of India to hand over the stadium to the district administration immediately for setting up of a quarantine facility after the widespread infection from markaz came to light.

The government also closed OPD services at LNJP and GB Pant hospitals, one of the five hospitals in the city designated for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Lt Governor Anil Baijal also held meetings with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Police Commissioner S N Srivastava and district magistrates and deputy commissioners of police via video conference. He asked the Delhi government to take the help of retired doctors and medical students if the national capital witnesses a steep rise in COVID-19 cases in the coming days, officials said.

Separately, Kejriwal held a video-conference with all party MLAs to discuss the relief work being carried out by them in their constituencies. He was joined by Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain in addressing the party MLAs. The AAP has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Delhi Assembly. "The chief minister asked all MLAs about the progress of the relief work in their areas and how effectively it was being done," Rajinder Nagar MLA Raghav Chadha told PTI. He said all the MLAs were told about how to further improve the work being carried out by them

"The MLAs shared their experiences. The chief minister explained all the schemes (related to relief work) of the Delhi government in detail to them. They were also told what needs to be done and how," Chadha said. In a statement, the AAP said Kejriwal instructed all the MLAs to ensure that the people in their areas get all the benefits of the government schemes during the ongoing 21-day lockdown.

The party supremo also asked the lawmakers to ensure that everyone gets ration from the ration shops of the Delhi government. He asked the MLAs to ensure that the quantity of food was sufficient and the quality was good at all the night shelters and Delhi government schools. The legislators were also told by the chief minister that no one should go hungry.