Amit Shah at all-party meet: Have to increase Covid-19 testing in Delhi using new solutions

Shah appealed to the four parties to ask their workers to help in ensuring the ground implementation of the Delhi government’s coronavirus guidelines. “These steps will enhance public trust and the Covid-19 situation in Delhi will improve soon,” Shah said.

The Home Minister also stated that Covid-19 testing would have to be increased in Delhi and new solutions would have to be adopted.

Delhi is set to see a more vigorous testing strategy in the coming week, with the capacity being increased from 8,600 to 18,000 Covid-19 tests per day in the next five days even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the lockdown would not be imposed in the capital.

Taking to Twitter, Kejriwal wrote, “Many people are speculating whether another lockdown in Delhi in being planned. There are no such plans.”

Delhi BJP Chief, Adesh Kumar Gupta said that the party has raised the demand that the cost of testing should be brought down by 50%. At present, a Covid-19 test in Delhi costs Rs 4,500.

“This demand has been approved by the minister… We also suggested that charges at private hospitals should be fixed. Taking cognisance of the matter, the Home Minister has constituted a committee which will submit a report within 2 days. Based on the report, price capping will be done for private hospitals,” Gupta said.

While the dominance of Maharashtra in the country-wide spread of the Covid-19 disease has weakened in the last few weeks, that of Tamil Nadu and Delhi has increased. That, in effect, has meant that the contribution of these three states in the national caseload has remained almost constant in the last one month, between 56 and 58 per cent.

Delhi and Tamil Nadu have been reporting almost 2,000 new cases each for the last few days now, while Maharashtra has now begun to report between 3,000 and 3,500 cases every day.