Amid the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday, 10 September directed all the authorities to increase the number of ICU beds, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain briefed the media.
He also stated that plasma therapy will continue to be used in the national capital, as it has proved to be effective in people who are in the initial stages of the coronavirus treatment, reported news agency PTI.
The statement comes after a multicentric study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) revealed that the use of convalescent plasma therapy in COVID-19 patients does not help in reducing deaths or preventing disease progression.
The researchers aimed to evaluate its effectiveness for coronavirus patients in the largest such randomised controlled trial, even as the therapy has been actively pushed as a treatment option in the country. On 23 August, the US Food and Drug Administration also issued an emergency use authorisation for plasma therapy as a COVID-19 treatment.
Kejriwal on Wednesday held a review meeting with Satyendar Jain, Chief Secretary Vijay Dev, senior officials, and medical superintendents of Delhi government-run hospitals and asked them to take all possible steps to prevent the spread of the virus, PTI reported.
Delhi on Wednesday reported 4,039 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike so far, crossing the two lakh-mark. The spike comes days after the Delhi government resumed the metro services amid high precautions.
(With inputs from PTI and Fit)
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