Omicron numbers steadily rising in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said the city's preparations for the highly infectious Covid variant will have a keen focus on home isolation of patients. Arrangements are being made to support and counsel one lakh patients a day in home isolation and an agency was being hired for it, he said.
The government decided to meet the Omicron challenge mainly through home isolation because from what has been seen so far, Omicron infection does not require hospitalization, he said.
Proper arrangements, however, is being made to increase the number of hospital beds and strengthen the weak point that caused mayhem during the lethal Delta outbreak of summer -- oxygen.
Fifteen oxygen tankers will be deployed to keep the hospitals properly stocked, Mr Kejriwal said.
"We are increasing our manpower and stocking medicines for the coming months. We are arranging medical oxygen -- 15 oxygen tankers will be delivered to us in the next three weeks," he said.
At a meeting this morning with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain, Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot and officials, Mr Kejriwal directed that the home isolation module be strengthened immediately. Capacity should be built to monitor and support at least one lakh patients in home isolation each day – up from the current 1,100.
Patients in home isolation will be counselled by the doctors for 10 days, the Chief Minister said.
As soon someone tests positive, a phone call will be made to the person and the next day a medical team will visit the person to provide him with a kit containing medicines and other items, Mr Kejriwal said.
To ward off panic, every person tested for COVID-19 should receive a phone call from the government, reassuring them about all the necessary help and treatment if found positive, officials have said.
The number of fresh Covid cases has started going up in Delhi, with the government bulletin reporting 125 cases over 24 hours on Wednesday. A chunk of these are cases of Omicron.
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