Kejriwal again urges Centre to buy vaccines for states
What's the story
Amid an acute shortage of vaccines, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday asked the Centre to buy vaccines and distribute them to the state governments and said this is not the time for blame game and petty politics.
The Chief Minister further stated that if new infections continue to decline, more activities will be allowed to open up in the city.
Vaccination drive
Not the time for blame game: Kejriwal
Asked about the politicization of the issue of vaccine procurement, Kejriwal said the Delhi government just wants vaccines.
"The central government should procure vaccines, and distribute them to the state governments. We will administer them to everyone," he said.
"This is not the time for finger-pointing. The experience of the entire world shows that vaccination is the sole solution," he added.
Lockdown
Delhi will start 'unlocking' from Monday
The process of lifting the lockdown gradually in the capital will begin from Monday, starting with a resumption of construction activities and the reopening of factories for a week, Kejriwal had announced on Friday.
The phase-wise unlocking process in Delhi will begin after over six weeks of lockdown.
"We want the economic activities back on track so that the economy can revive," Kejriwal said.
Black fungus
Delhi government has declared black fungus an epidemic
The Delhi government has floated a global expression of interest (EOI) for the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine on an urgent basis.
Kejriwal said the government is making all efforts from their side but till now the outcomes have not been very fruitful.
Meanwhile, amid rising incidents of black fungus in the national capital, the Delhi government had on Thursday declared it an epidemic.
COVID-19 numbers
Delhi recorded lowest COVID-19 cases since March 21 on Saturday
Delhi recorded 956 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the lowest since March 21, when the national capital had reported 823 cases. The city reported 122 deaths due to the infection and a positivity rate of 1.19%
Till now, Delhi has recorded 14,24,646 cases and 24,073 deaths.
Delhi also recorded about 450 cases of black fungus, according to data till Friday.