Reiterating the Delhi government’s denial of another shutdown, Chief Deputy Minister Manish Sisodia has said there are no plans to close markets or reopen schools. In an interview with CNN-News18, Sisodia, however, said that certain regulations can be imposed if crowds and COVID-19
cases continue to increase in the markets. Responding to congressional leader Ajay Maken’s criticism of the lavish Lakshmi Puja attended by Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Sisodia said the national capital could have handled the pandemic better if Congress had strengthened healthcare infrastructure during his 15-year reign in Delhi.
Edited excerpts:
It is the third and deadliest wave of the coronavirus in Delhi with 584 deaths in six days. What forced your government to review the strategy and expect a complete closure of the markets?
No one is thinking of a complete shutdown or a lockdown. A misconception is spreading that we are headed for closure. I have said repeatedly that blocking is not the solution for COVID-19. The solution is better hospital management, better medical facilities, and better medical management. The Delhi government has been working in this area in a very strong way.
We have already imposed a blockade. There was also a nationwide shutdown and we have seen the consequences. Instead, problems have exploded. In some markets, we have witnessed unprecedented crowds and we are watching these markets. If, even after the end of the festivals, we continue to see such crowds and if we find positive cases in the markets, where we are also testing, then we will think about certain regulations, how to enforce social distancing, how to decrease the crowds and how to make that people who visit markets wear masks. We will talk to the market associations and impose certain regulations, if necessary. However, this is not a lock.
You are talking about regulations in the markets. Are you also considering similar regulations and restrictions for the transportation sector?
We do not think at all about closing markets. I reiterate that we have only asked the central government for permission so that, if necessary, we can impose certain regulations. However, this is neither a blockade nor a mini blockade, as the media call it. And we are not thinking of introducing regulations elsewhere. I say again that the solution coronavirus does not lie in closing everything. The solution is to treat the person infected with COVID-19. You can’t stop the coronavirus. No one in the world has control over the rise and fall of cases.
In Delhi, our hospital management system is such that we have almost 26,000 people in home isolation. Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal was the first to initiate the home isolation system in the country.
Second, we have a good ambulance service. There is no problem there. Today, Delhi has over 16,000 Covid-specific beds, of which between 7,500 and 8,000 beds are empty. There was a shortage of intensive care units, about which the prime minister had written to the central government for help. We are grateful to the central government for giving us 250 ICU beds by Monday. They promised to give us 750 ICU beds in total. Once these ICU beds are available, there will be no problem.
However, the way cases and the number of deaths are increasing, the availability of ICU beds can still become a problem …
In ICUs, 85-90% of beds are occupied. About 50% of non-ICU beds are available. We are facing a shortage of ICU beds, so we ask the central government for help. The CM is seeking help from everyone: central government, charities, DRDO. Wherever it is needed, the prime minister does not hesitate to ask for help. The positive is that we are receiving help.
When it is difficult to impose social distancing in the markets, and when we are at this peak, what solution exists besides closing the markets?
Blocking is not the solution. Mass consciousness is. While the government is successfully working on better medical facilities and better hospital management, everyone must commit to stopping the pandemic. Whenever we go out, to the markets, in our vehicles, in buses, to go for a walk, we must make sure to wear our masks. Masks are absolutely essential.
Does the proposal restricting the number of people to 50 instead of 200 apply only to weddings? Or meetings of all kinds?
It is applicable to all public meetings. It’s not about weddings. The point is, the more people you get together, the more chances there are that protocols will be broken. If one person in that gathering of 200 is infected, everyone else is at risk of becoming infected. Hence the restriction to all types of meetings.
You are considering imposing these restrictions now. Why didn’t you think of them before? Perhaps this situation would not have arisen then?
I feel that these steps have been taken at the right time. Due to the festivals, there was a surge of people in the markets. I feel like the step has been taken at the right time.
Congress leader Ajay Maken has alleged that he squandered Rs 32 crore on Lakshmi Puja on Diwali. The same money could have been used to provide more healthcare facilities in Delhi at such a difficult financial time.
I don’t have the figures for how much money was spent, but maybe Ajay Maken does. Maken’s party is now having trouble even with Diwai they bid, which is quite unfortunate. Maken’s party was in government for 15 years in Delhi. Had they done as much for medical facilities as has been done in the last five years, Delhi would be in a different state now.
Isn’t it about the schools reopening now?
Not at all.
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