Cabs at vaccination centres in Delhi can be used to ferry Covid patients if required, say officials

The 320 cabs deployed at Covid vaccination centres in Delhi can be used to ferry patients who have tested positive for the viral disease if such a need arises, officials have said.

Paramedics deployed on these ambulances have been trained to tackle paediatrics emergencies, officials said at a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority. The four vendors who provide ambulances to the government have been kept on high alert and they will provide 250 ambulances on a short notice of one to two days, they said.

Three Covid fatalities were recorded in Delhi in a day after over four months while 5,481 fresh cases were logged on Tuesday, the highest since May 16, as the city government announced weekend curfew to curb the contagion driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant. According to official data, the case positivity rate mounted to 8.37 per cent. This was the highest since May 17 when it was 8.42 per cent.

Amid the rise in cases, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced a return of the weekend curfew as the Delhi Disaster Management Authority decided to reimpose some more restrictions in the wake of a fresh surge in Covid infections. At a press conference, he announced that on weekdays, government employees, barring those engaged in essential services, will be asked to work from home, while private offices will remain open with 50 per cent capacity.

However, buses and metro trains will return to running to their full seating capacity throughout the week as the government feared that bus stops and metro stations could become COVID-19 superspreaders as long queues were seen at such places after the seating capacity was halved. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, however, asked people to not panic while asserting that weekend curfew should not be considered as a lockdown.

With inputs from PTI.