New Delhi, May 30 (IANS): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said while the coronavirus cases are increasing, the government is ahead of the infection in terms of preparations.

Kejriwal said so far, 398 people have died due to the infection.

"In the past few days, the cases have been increasing and I assure that we are ahead in planning. We have made arrangements even more than what is required. We cannot have a permanent lockdown to fight against coronavirus," he said.

Kejriwal, while addressing the media, also said that the aim is that there are sufficient beds and arrangements in the hospitals to deal with the cases and fewer deaths taking place.

"We have procured a large number of beds to treat Corona(virus) patients. Though the number of cases are rising, we have sufficient arrangements to treat them," he added. He informed that last week the city had 4,500 beds for covid treatment.

"In the past week, we made arrangements for 2,100 more beds. We now have about 6,500 beds. By June 5, we will have 9,500 beds. We are taking over hospitals and hotels," he added.

Kejriwal also informed that while the cases have doubled in the last 15 days, only 2,100 are in hospitals and rest are undergoing treatment at their homes.

"Today, 17,386 cases are there and only 2,100 patients are in hospitals, only about 600 more people have been admitted to the hospitals in the last 15 days," he added.