Delhi’s Covid-19 positivity rate dipped by 5% in 5 days, says Arvind Kejriwal at HTLS 2020
The theme of this year’s HTLS edition, held virtually, is ‘Defining a New Era’ as the world learns to live and deal with the Coronavirus infection and takes baby steps in controlling the pandemic and embraces the new normal.
With the national capital currently battling its third wave of the Coronavirus infection, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that the Covid-19 positivity rate in the capital had dipped by 5% in as many days and attributed the decline to a number of innovations that his government had adopted in the fight against the viral infection.
“Pollution is also exacerbating the recent surge in Covid-19 cases and the number of deaths too has increased steeply due to pollution caused by stubble burning in other states. Delhi has significantly reduced its own pollution levels, but we cannot control pollution which is spreading from other north Indian states,” the Delhi chief minister said.
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On a more optimistic note, Kejriwal indicated that the Covid-19 positivity rate in the national capital was 15% at the beginning of this month amid very high pollution levels. “In the last few days, the positivity rate has dropped from 15% to 13% on November 17 and today on November 20, it is at 10.5%. So the positivity rate in Delhi has dropped by 5% in five days. This has given us hope that we may perhaps be past the peak of the third wave of infection that the city has been reeling under,” the Delhi chief minister said.
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“Compared to other global cities like New York which have seen a massive spike in Covid-19 infections, Delhi has not collapsed in the face of a huge public health crisis. In Delhi, you will not find people lying in corridors in hospitals dedicated to treating Covid-19 patients since we have been able to arrange the requisite number of beds,” Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal was participating in the 18th edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS) in conversation with HT’s Executive Editor Kunal Pradhan. On Day 1, held a day earlier, the virtual session saw Dr Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS and Dr Ashish K Jha, Dean, Brown University School of Public Health discussing the Covid-19 health crisis and how it had affected the entire world. Dr Guleria also warned the population to be more cautious at present than ever before since a suitable vaccine for the viral disease was just round the corner.
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The theme of this year’s HTLS edition, held virtually, is ‘Defining a New Era’ as the world learns to live and deal with the Coronavirus infection and takes baby steps in controlling the pandemic and embraces the new normal.
As the world grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, which has brought nearly 200 countries face-to-face with the largest public health crisis that the world has seen in a century, this year’s edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit is a virtual event and an amalgamation of global leaders from all spheres of life. Live discussions with the celebrity participants will be spread over the span of four weeks scheduled twice a week on Thursdays and Fridays.
The Hindustan Times Leadership Summit was initiated in 2003 to raise the level of discourse on crucial issues and to encourage healthy interaction among leaders in important areas and present quality thought. The last seventeen summits, held annually, have seen leaders from the country and across the world putting forth their views to build a better India in a post-modern world.
