'82% people who died of COVID were above 50': CM Kejriwal urges to follow precautions

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that the most number of COVID-19 deaths have been reported amongst people above the age of 50 and the elderly. He requested people to follow all health precautions so as to avoid contracting the highly contagious coronavirus.

"We have analysed that 82 per cent of the people who lost their lives were above the age of 50. We are seeing that there are more deaths among the elderly," said Kejriwal.

"Out of roughly 7,000 positive cases in Delhi, approximately 1,500 are in hospital. Out of these 1,500 cases, only 27 are on the ventilator. The majority of these cases are mild or asymptomatic," he added.

The number of cases in the national capital climbed to 6,923 on Saturday. 51 people are in the intensive care unit while approximately 75 per cent of the coronavirus cases are either mild or asymptomatic (ICU). The Chief Minister also added that the government has requisitioned ambulances from private hospitals as complaints were received that people had to wait for several hours for ambulances.

He further informed that the government has attached at least two 5-star hotels with Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, for the treatment of healthcare professionals and COVID-19 warriors, if they contract the infection while performing their duty. 

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Opposition attacks Kejriwal govt

Opposition political parties trained their guns at the AAP government over the exact figure of coronavirus deaths. Congress leader Ajay Maken asked the Arvind Kejriwal-led dispensation it "to be more transparent" in reporting cases of the disease. It was a "matter of shame" that Delhi was witnessing "a sorry state of affairs" in the fight against the pandemic, he said.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said the chief minister should clear the air about the situation. "Reports of under-reporting of coronavirus deaths are a matter of concern. It is extremely shameful that to hide its failures, the Delhi government is reportedly concealing COVID-19 death figures. This is not the time to for politics. People have the right to know about the severity of the epidemic and the Kejriwal government should tell them the truth," he said.

Seeking to clarify the matter, Jain said, "There is no reason to hide anything. We have asked hospitals to send the death reports or summaries at the earliest. I give you a guarantee that no case will go unaccounted for."

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(With Inputs from ANI)