Delhi has 12% of India’s COVID-19 cases: Kejriwal

New Delhi, April 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said while Delhi has only two per cent of the country's total population, it accounts for 12 per cent of the total coronavirus cases reported across the nation.

Speaking to the media, Kejriwal said Delhi received most people coming from abroad -- from where the infection came.

"Delhi has only two per cent of the total population of India, however, 12 per cent of the COVID-19 cases are in Delhi...Delhi is the national capital. All those coming from foreign came here. They brought the infection with them. Initially people were not kept in quarantine. So, Delhi was worst affected," the Chief Minister said.

Kejriwal also said that Delhi patient count also increased as Delhi was the worst affected among the cases reported from the Nizamuddin Markaz.

The Chief Minister said Delhi currently has about 1,900 coronavirus cases, of which 26 are in the ICU and six on ventilators..

"Imagine if lockdown was not imposed and more people were infected...Imagine if 3,000 people needed ICU or 2,000-2,500 needed ventilators. We don't have any such numbers of ICU or ventilators. Look at Italy, Spain or American. These equipments were not enough in those countries and people are dying," he said.

While he said the cases are increasing, he said the situation is under control.

"It is worrying, but situation is under control... We all have to stay in discipline," Kejriwal said as he attributed the control in numbers to the lockdown.

Kejriwal also said that all the 186 new cases reported on Saturday were asymptomatic.

"They didn't know they had coronavirus. This is more worrying," he said, adding one among the positive cases was distributing food in the government's hunger relief shelter.

"I am assuming that same people are coming in the food distribution centre and so have directed for everyone's rapid testing...Also, we will have rapid testing of all those working or distributing food across the food distribution points," the Chief Minister added.

On the red zones, he said daily the containment zones are increasing. As of now 77 red zones are in Delhi.

"Random testing was done in containment zones. While no new cases were reported from some, more cases were reported from others."

While, he said the government ensured that no one from the containment zone can step out or no outsiders can go in, but people are moving inside the zone.

"Like in Jahangirpuri, extended family members, living in one lane, were infected. They did not stop moving despite the lane being sealed."

While the Central government has decided to relax the lockdown in few sectors from Monday, the Delhi government has decided to keep all the district under strict lockdown as all the 11 districts are coronavirus hotspots.

Source: IANS