The health ministers of Delhi and Haryana locked horns on Monday, 17 January, claiming that the rise in Omicron cases in their state is due to people visiting from other states.
Haryana’s Health Minister Anil Vij said that most of the Omicron cases in the state is recorded in three districts – Gurugram, Faridabad, and Sonipat – and alleges that the rise in cases amidst the third wave is due to its “proximity to Delhi”.
Vij told news agency ANI on Sunday, 16 January, "More than half of the cases in Haryana are from Gurugram, Faridabad, and Sonepat. The proximity to Delhi has an effect on this. But there is no need to panic. We are well-prepared."
Refuting allegations, his New Delhi counterpart Satyendar Jain said that Vij’s comments are politically-motivated and claimed that over a 1,000 cases in the national capital are due to “people outside Delhi”.
"These are political comments. I can also tell how many Haryana people are testing positive in Delhi. Over 1,000 COVID cases are being reported from outside Delhi every day."Satyendar Jain, Health Minister, New Delhi, told ANI
Delhi CM Kejriwal Takes a Neutral Stance
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took a neutral ground in the squabble between the two states and said he does not want to be involved in the “blame game”.
In response to a question over the Health Ministers’ statements, Kejriwal said, “I won't indulge in blame games. It's not going to eradicate the disease. Wherever there is coronavirus in the country it should be eradicated."
Meanwhile, New Delhi reported 18,286 new COVID cases on Sunday (13 percent lower than Saturday's 20,718 cases) and a positivity rate of 27.87 percent.
(With inputs from ANI)
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