As complaints mounted on social media of poor treatment at Delhi’s hospitals, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday that all government and private hospitals in the city would only treat Delhi residents till the rising COVID-19 cases are contained.
At the same time, he said that Delhi will unseal its borders, which were sealed in the first place “thinking that our hospitals will be flooded with people from other states”.
Hospitals only for Delhi residents; borders to open from tomorrow.
While malls and restaurants will resume activity from Monday as per the Centre’s guidelines, hotels and banquet halls in Delhi will remain shut, Arvind Kejriwal said. “These hotels and banquet halls might have to be turned into hospitals in the future,” he said.
However, the decision will not cover hospitals like AIIMS and Safdarjung that come under the Union government, he added.
Reiterating his apprehension that city hospitals may get swamped by people from other states in the absence of restrictions, the chief minister, while addressing the citizens via video conferencing, said: “A five-member committee assessed the situation and found that by the end of June, we will be needing around 15,000 beds to treat infected patients. There are around 10,000 beds each in Delhi government and Centre-run hospitals. The Cabinet has decided that beds in Delhi government hospitals should be reserved only for people of Delhi.”