New Delhi placed under lockdown as hospitals reach 鈥榖reaking point鈥�

A woman holds personal protective suit as she waits to perform last rites for a relative who died of COVID-19 in New Delhi. (AP)
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  • New Delhi recorded 26,000 coronavirus cases on Monday, a record jump since April 1

NEW DELHI: India鈥檚 government on Monday announced a week-long lockdown in the national capital, New Delhi, after its health system reached 鈥渂reaking point鈥� due to a scarcity of hospital beds and oxygen tanks for coronavirus patients.

On Monday, India witnessed an unprecedented spike in coronavirus infections, with 273,810 cases reported in a single day.

At least 1,620 people were killed by the virus, creating another record on Monday and bringing the country鈥檚 death toll to 178,769.

New Delhi recorded 26,000 coronavirus cases on Monday, a record jump since April 1, when daily case numbers hovered around the 1,000 mark. The city also recorded 161 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours.

New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal described the situation as 鈥減retty critical,鈥� adding that imposing the lockdown was 鈥渢he only option left to avoid a bigger disaster.鈥�

He said in a televised address: 鈥淒elhi鈥檚 health system is at a breaking point. I will not say it has collapsed, but the situation is pretty critical.鈥�

Kejriwal added that the decision to impose a lockdown was 鈥渘ot an easy one to take.鈥�

He said: 鈥淚 have always been against a lockdown, but it will reduce the transmission rate and give us time to boost our infrastructure. We will use this week-long lockdown to improve our healthcare.鈥�

Kejriwal acknowledged that Delhi was facing an acute shortage of hospital beds and oxygen supply, highlighting the issue in a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday while seeking help from the federal government to avert the crisis.

A majority of hospitals in Delhi reported chaotic scenes on Monday with patients desperately searching for bed space in coronavirus wards.

All of the 18,933 beds reserved for coronavirus patients were reportedly full on Monday, including 1,436 intensive care unit (ICU) beds and 2,881 ICU beds without ventilators.

However, residents are warning that existing facilities cannot accommodate the surge in infections, with several losing relatives due to a lack of oxygen supply and medical support.

鈥淚 lost my wife on Sunday because she could not get ventilator support on time,鈥� Dr. Anwar Sadat, a Delhi resident, told Arab News.

鈥淲e never thought that such a tragedy would strike us and that our whole life would become disoriented within a matter of days. We desperately looked for beds in the hospital for her, but by the time she got ventilator support, my wife had collapsed,鈥� Sadat said.

Besides New Delhi, the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh (MP) also posted a grim picture, with medical infrastructure in its capital city Bhopal 鈥渙verstretched鈥� amid reports of residents suffering due to a lack of medical attention.

MP has also imposed a lockdown until April 26 in several cities, including Bhopal. 

On Monday, it reported almost 12,500 coronavirus infections across the state.

However, media reports alleged that government figures do not reflect the reality on the ground in crematoriums and burial grounds.

鈥淭here was hardly any space to burn the dead bodies in the crematorium ground. We had to wait eight hours,鈥� Santosh Mishra, who lost his uncle to coronavirus, told Arab News about the situation at the Bhadbhada crematorium in Bhopal.

Doctors, too, said they were struggling to cope with the massive influx of patients.

鈥淭he situation is grim,鈥� Dr. Sarman Singh, director of Bhopal鈥檚 premium medical institution, the All India Institute of Medical Science, told Arab News.

鈥淲e are facing a scarcity of beds and oxygen like everywhere in the world, and the patient load is increasing,鈥� he added.

Arab News on Sunday reported similar events in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and the western state of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi鈥檚 home state.

Experts said they were unsure how long the spike in coronavirus infections would continue, but blamed ongoing regional election campaigns and an ongoing Hindu festival, the Kumbh Mela 鈥� where millions converge to sacred sites for a ritual dip in holy waters 鈥� for 鈥渁dding to the existing trouble.鈥�

Dorairaj Prabhakaran, general secretary of the Public Health Foundation of India, said: 鈥淚t will take another two to three weeks before the cases peak in major cities.鈥�

He said that imposing the lockdown was 鈥渙ne of the options to contain the virus,鈥� adding: 鈥淟ockdown is an important option right now. At least a decentralized lockdown is a better option than a countrywide lockdown. This keeps the mobility going.鈥�

However, Dr. Jayesh Lele, general secretary of the Indian Medical Association, blamed the 鈥減athetic management鈥� of the government for the crisis.

鈥淲hy is the government going ahead with the election campaigning and not stopping mass gatherings? It鈥檚 a pathetic management of affairs,鈥� Lele told Arab News.

鈥淭he government should have done some preparation. Today, cities across India have collapsed. In rural areas, the situation is probably grimmer,鈥� he added.