Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted on Wednesday that Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's order to keep hospitals in the national capital open for non-residents of Delhi will be implemented.
Addressing a press conference here, Kejriwal said, "This is not the time to differ from each other or argue. Whatever the Lt Governor and the Central government said will be implemented. This is not the time to do politics. If we keep on fighting, coronavirus will win."
The remarks came two days after Baijal issued an order striking down key announcements made by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government to reserve beds in private and Delhi government hospitals for city residents only.
The L-G, who is also the Chairman of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), said in his order on Monday that "treatment should not be denied to any patient on grounds of being a non-resident".
Kejriwal, however, rued that it will be a massive challenge to accommodate people from adjoining states, and requested them to make sufficient provision of beds so that people don't have to come to Delhi for treatment.
Meanwhile, he contended that Delhi is faced with a big challenge as recent data shows that there will be a significant increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the national capital in the coming days.
Kejriwal said, "Data shows that Covid-19 cases will significantly increase in Delhi in the coming days. We have a big challenge ahead. Keep yourself safe and make it a mass movement. Wear a mask, wash hands and maintain social distancing."
The Chief Minister also projected an exponential growth in the city's numbers. "Till June 15, there will be 44,000 Covid-19 cases and we would require 6,600 beds. We would hit one lakh cases and require 15,000 beds by June 30," he said.
He added that the cases would mount to 2.5 lakh and the city would require 33,000 beds by July 15, while by July 31, there will be 5.32 lakh cases and 80,000 beds will be needed.
( With inputs from IANS )