Delhi L-G Anil Baijal constitutes high-level committee to suggest steps to deal with COVID-19 crisis

NEW DELHI: Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Friday constituted a high-level advisory committee of experts to suggest effective measures to deal with rising coronavirus cases in the national capital. 

The advisory committee of experts has been constituted under section 17 of DDMA Act to advise the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on various aspects of COVID-19 management.

The decision to set up the panel came days after Delhi Health Department projected a steep surge in COVID-19 cases and predicted that they could breach the 1,00,000-mark this month-end and touch 5 lakh by July-end.

The six-member committee comprises Krishna Vatsa (Member) NDMA, Kamal Kishore (Member) NDMA, Prof Balram Bhargava DG-ICMR, Dr Randeep Guleria  Director AIIMS, Dr Ravindran Addl DDG (DGHS) and Dr Surjit Kumar Singh (Director) NCDC.

The committee is expected to give its suggestions on tackling the COVID-19 pandemic over the next few weeks and months.

Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal is the chairman of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).

The move came two days after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and both the leaders discussed the COVID-19 situation in Delhi.

With 34,867 COVID-19 cases so far, Delhi is in dire straits with the city recording 1,877 cases on Thursday, the highest single-day spike yet.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain has said that it's a "war-like situation" and the city government will try every means available to get more doctors and medical staff to meet the ever-increasing requirement.

"The high-level panel will advise the DDMA on various aspects of COVID-19 management, including the integration of measures being taken by various agencies for effective mitigation. It would also help in formulating a practical approach to effectively deal with the COVID-19 crisis," the source said.

Kejriwal had recently claimed that Delhi would need 1.5 lakh beds by July 31 if people from other states start coming to the national capital for treatment.

Another panel constituted by the Lieutenant Governor has suggested using Pragati Maidan, Talkatora Indoor Stadium, Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium and JLN Stadium as makeshift COVID-19 facility to deal with the surge in the number of cases.

The panel has also suggested using Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium and Dhyanchand National Stadium for the purpose.