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New Delhi, May 6 (PTI): Delhi received 730 metric tonnes of medical oxygen for the first time amid a crippling shortage, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday and asserted that no one will die due to lack of the life-saving gas if the Centre maintains the same level of supply till the second Covid wave lasts.
While Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday thanking him after the city received 730 MT oxygen on Wednesday, the AAP government's stand in the Supreme Court was at variance with the CM's letter.
Addressing an online media briefing on Thursday, the chief minister appealed to all stakeholders to ensure that Delhi's daily supply of 700 MT is not curtailed during the second wave of Covid infections.
He urged the city hospitals to increase the number of Covid beds that they had to scale down due to shortage of oxygen in the recent past. This way, 1,000-2,000 more beds will be added, he said.
Amid a life-threatening shortage of medical oxygen faced by hospitals in Delhi, the courts have lashed out at both the Centre and the Delhi government while ordering adequate supply of oxygen to save lives of serious Covid-19 patients.
"If Delhi gets an adequate supply of 700 MT oxygen daily, it will be able to set up 9,000-9,500 beds in the city. The Delhi government will not let anyone die due to oxygen shortage in the city," Kejriwal said.
However, DJB Vice Chairman and AAP MLA Raghav Chadha, earlier in the day, said, "We need 976 tonnes of oxygen every day. I appeal to the central government with folded hands to provide 730 tonnes daily."
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court said that it will not allow the top court of the country to be a ground of recrimination between the Centre and the Delhi government as both indulged in a blame game on the issue of allocation and supply of oxygen to the national capital.
During the media briefing on Thursday, the chief minister said that until the second wave of Covid-19 is under control, Delhi will need 700MT oxygen daily, he said.
"Since the past few days, Delhi has been suffering from a scarcity of oxygen. Presently, to run all our hospitals and our health infrastructure in Delhi, we require 700MT oxygen daily."
It was for the first time on Wednesday that the central government sent 730 MT oxygen to Delhi.
"As the chief minister of Delhi, I would like to thank the central government on behalf of the people of Delhi. I would also thank the the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court and. It was because of their efforts that we were able to get 730 MT oxygen," he also said.
Several lives will be saved with this enhanced oxygen supply, he said.
"Till the second wave of Covid is not curbed, we need 700 MT oxygen daily. It shouldn't be the case that one day we receive 700 MT and the next day we again get only 300-400 MT, because this will create a turmoil in the hospitals again," he said.
He said that many hospitals, including government ones, were forced to reduce Covid beds due to shortage of oxygen and patients could not get it.
"Hospitals have said that if they are given an adequate and sufficient amount of oxygen, they will increase the number of beds. I hope that the 700 MT oxygen will be supplied daily, which will allow hospitals to resume existing beds and expand their bed limit so that admission can be given to as many patients as possible and lives can be saved," he said.
On Thursday, the national capital recorded 335 Covid-19 deaths in a day and 19,133 new cases even as the positivity rate dropped below 25 per cent for the first time since April 18.
This is the third time in the last four days that the number of new cases remained below 20,000.
Delhi had reported 20,960 cases on Wednesday, 19,953 on Tuesday, 18,043 on Monday, 20,394 cases on Sunday, 25,219 on Saturday, 27,047 on Friday, 24,235 on last Thursday and 25,986 on Wednesday last week.