Delhi Covid lockdown news live: National capital reports 20,394 new cases, 407 deaths

Delhi recorded 375 Covid-19 deaths on Friday, taking the total toll due to the disease in the national capital to 16,147, the second highest in the country after Maharashtra where 68,183 people have succumbed to the infection since the beginning of the pandemic. In the past 30 days, from April 1 to 30, Delhi has recorded 5,850 deaths, averaging 195 daily. The maximum deaths in a day in Delhi — 395 — were recorded on Friday. In March, the average was around four.

One must have seen at least a thousand SOS messages in social media for Remdesivir, a name that will forever remind of Covid-19. In the past two weeks, the demand for this anti-viral injection has gone through the roof, forcing desperate people to pay any amount asked for a vial of the drug, frequently opening them up to the risk of being duped. Reena, who is based in Kolkata, was looking for the injection for her cousin’s father in Jorbagh, central Delhi. Speaking to TOI, Reena said, “Since my cousin was busy taking care of her father, who even now is in critical condition, she requested us to call people selling Remdesivir. We stumbled upon a number, and the seller asked for an advance. He promised to give us six vials for Rs 28,000. The payment had to be transferred to an account whose holder name was listed as ‘Cipla Company e Foundation Ltd’. He asked for the prescription, Covid reports and Aadhaar card details. We sent these and transferred the money.”

Unlike the first wave of Covid-19 when most people requiring hospitalisation were the elderly and people with comorbidities, this time younger people — those younger than 40 years old — are developing severe symptoms that necessitate hospital stay. While one explanation for this is the increased virulence of the coronavirus in circulation, doctors say obesity might also be playing a big role in this. According to Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director, Lok Nayak Hospital, most of the younger Covid-positive people requiring admission in his hospital were either overweight or obese. “Two patients aged 40 and 41 years died in our hospital on Thursday. One of them weighed 120 kg, the other around 90 kg,” Kumar revealed, while explaining that obese people have high insulin resistance and their lung function and respiratory reserve are also compromised, thus predisposing them to diseaserelated complications.

Struggling with a second wave of Covid-19 and an overwhelmed healthcare system, the Haryana government announced a weekend lockdown in Gurgaon from 10pm on Friday till 5am on Monday. This comes a day after the district saw a single-day spike of 5,000 cases and now has over 36,000 active cases. Apart from Gurgaon, the weekend lockdown has been imposed in eight others districts — Faridabad, Panchkula, Sonipat, Rohtak, Karnal, Hisar, Sirsa and Fatehabad. In its order, the government has urged people to stay at home during the lockdown period.

At least three top private hospital chains in Delhi-NCR — Max, Fortis and Apollo — have said they will start vaccination against Covid-19 for those aged 18 years and above from Saturday. In a statement, Max Healthcare said the eligible beneficiaries would be required to register on www.cowin.gov.in and book an appointment slot before coming for the vaccination. “Max Healthcare is one of the first hospital chains in the country to procure vaccines (Covishield) and will be starting the universal vaccination drive from select hospitals in the network in the NCR of Delhi,” it said. “As the supplies of the vaccine pick up, all hospitals in the network will be used to vaccinate the citizens.”

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday urged Delhiites not to queue up at Covid-19 vaccination centres on Saturday, when the third phase of the inoculation drive to cover all adults in India is scheduled to start. He said that Delhi government is yet to receive vaccines from the companies and after the doses arrive in a day or two, the government will begin the drive after due announcement. “Beginning May 1, the vaccination drive for those between 18-44 years is set to begin. The drive for those aged 45 and above is already in motion,” Kejriwal said addressing a digital press conference. “We have not yet received the vaccine and are in continuous touch with the companies and hope the vaccines will be delivered in a day or two. We’ve been assured of this,” he said, adding that the third phase of the drive has received an overwhelming response and many people have registered for getting the jab.