Delhi to provide free vaccines to those above 18 years: CM Kejriwal

Delhi government has decided to provide free vaccines to people above 18 years, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Monday.

The third phase of India's vaccination drive is set to launch on May 1, when all Indians above 18 years will be eligible for Covid vaccination.

Addressing a digital press conference on Monday, Kejriwal also said that Delhi government has today approved the purchase of 1.34 crore vaccines. "We will make an effort to ensure that it is purchased soon and administered at thd earliest to people," Kejriwal said.

With this announcement, Delhi has joined the likes of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Goa, and Sikkim who have promised free vaccination for all above 18 years at state government facilities.

Meanwhile, Delhi has recorded 350 deaths and 22,933 new Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours upto Sunday, official data showed. This picture is only slightly better than the daily death toll of 357 and 24,103 new Covid-19 cases recorded on Saturday.

Delhi has extended its lockdown measure by a week, as the city State’s health care infrastructure remained overwhelmed due to the surge in new Covid-19 cases along with shortages of medical oxygen and hospital beds.

Already, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sent out a SOS letter to the chief ministers of all the States seeking their assistance on the medical oxygen supply front. He has also written a letter to leading industrialists on the same issue.

Meanwhile, test positivity rate came in at 30.21per cent on Sunday, reflecting the alarming situation in the capital. Roughly one in three tested are turning Covid-19 positive. Delhi currently has cumulative positivity rate of 6.12 per cent, the highest rate so far and a cause of worry given that it is above the 5 per cent mark. There are 27,366 containment zones in Delhi. On Sunday, as many as 75,912 tests were conducted, slightly higher than 74,702 in the previous day. In all, there are 94,592 active cases as of Sunday, the Delhi State Health bulletin issued on Sunday evening showed.

It may be recalled that Delhi had on Saturday achieved a grim milestone with its total Covid-19 infections surpassing the million mark to touch 10,04,782 cases as of Saturday. In the last 12 days alone, Delhi has added about 2,75,000 positive cases, sending the entire creaking healthcare infrastructure in the capital into a tailspin amid huge medical oxygen shortage in the city’s ongoing fourth wave.

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