New Delhi, July 1 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday reiterated that the situation in the capital city is now under control and not adverse as it was a month ago but warned that there is no room for complacency as the coronavirus is unpredictable.
Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal asserted that the situation is in-check due to increase in number of beds, testing, recovery rate and decrease in the death rate due to the coronavirus.
"The situation is under control and not as adverse as it was a month ago. This is due to our concerted efforts," he said, asking people to follow the social distancing norms and wear masks religiously.
He added, "Situation is improving in Delhi in the last few days. However, there is no room for complacency. This virus is unpredictable. We must continue our efforts with more vigour."
The Chief Minister, however, hinted that the situation predicted by his government a month ago did not turn out to be accurate.
"We had predicted that by June 30, there will be one lakh total cases and sixty thousand active cases, but now there are only 26,000 active cases, almost one-third. With the help of people, doctor, nurses, we have now controlled the situation," he added.
Last month, he had projected an exponential growth in the city's COVID cases. "We would hit one lakh cases and would require 15,000 beds by June 30," he had warned.
"There was fear. We have now arranged 15,000 beds in Delhi, but there are only 5,800 people admitted right now. One month ago, there were only 8,500 beds. The number of COVID-19 patients is decreasing," Kejriwal added.
The 51-year-old leader further said that the recovery rate is also improving. One month ago, 38 per cent had recovered which has now improved to 68 per cent, he said.
He went on to say that the daily cases have also come down. "On June 23, the city recorded 4,000 new cases and yesterday only 2,200 tested positive."
Kejriwal asserted that the death rate has decreased while testing has increased drastically. "Earlier out of 100 people who were tested, 31 used to be found positive. Now, when we test 100 people, we find only 13 people positive," he added.
Meanwhile, India recorded a spike of 18,653 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 5,85,493, with the number of fatalities mounting to 17,400, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday.
( With inputs from IANS )