New Delhi, May 10 (IANS): A new 400-bed isolation and treatment centre for Covid patients at Rakabganj Gurudwara has been attached to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) hospital, wherein in case a patient develops critical symptoms he will be shifted to the hospital.

The isolation and treatment centre has been set up by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) for Covid patients. "I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the DSGMC for setting up this fully air-conditioned infrastructure. The Delhi government has taken care of the medical facilities and equipment. Other than that, all facilities have been set up by the DSGMC itself," Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said during an inspection visit on Monday.

"We do have ample number of beds and in case a patient who is admitted here becomes critical, they will be shifted to the ICU ward of the hospital," Jain added.

Speaking about the declining Covid cases in the national capital in the last few days, the health minister stated that the drop in the daily cases can be seen as a ray of hope for Delhi. In the past few days, not only the daily positivity rate, but a downtrend in the number of cases is also being reported.

Delhi has reported 12,651 new Covid cases and 319 deaths in the last 24 hours. The daily positivity rate has come down to 20 per cent, with 19.10 per cent reported on Sunday. "When there was a time Delhi was recording approximately 28,000 cases, this has fallen to around 12,000. The 36 per cent positivity rate has now fallen to nearly below 20 per cent. We hope the spread will reduce. Nevertheless, we should not cut back on our preparations, and need to continue to protect ourselves in every possible way," Jain added.

Jain stated that Delhi is facing an acute shortage of vaccines. "For Covaxin, we have stock left only for one day, and for Covishield, only 3-4 days' stock is available. We really want the entire population of Delhi to be vaccinated and are conducting a mass vaccination drive," Jain added.