New Delhi, May 14 (IANS): The Delhi government announced on Friday that it will bear the cost of raising and educating children who have lost their parents, and also provide financial help to families and senior citizens who have lost their earning members during the second wave of the Covid pandemic.

Addressing a digital press conference, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in the last few weeks, many children have lost their parents and several senior citizen have lost their children.

"We will provide financial assistance to such families, but such children and old people need love at this point in time. They need empathy. It is my request to all the neighbours and the relatives of such families to take care of them. These families are facing great challenges," he said.

The Chief Minister also said that the number of people admitted to the hospitals has also reduced by more than 3,000 in the past 10 days but warned the situation was still serious.

"Now there is no problem being faced to get beds in hospitals, yet one thing to be observed is that the ICU beds are still full. This means the number of serious patients has not declined much. Even now, the ICU beds in the hospitals of Delhi are almost full.

"If we do not take precautions, then the cases will increase again. There is no guarantee that they will remain low. Delhi may face problems again. And therefore by no means, can we let loose. The lockdown has to be adhered to strictly and should employ all the ways to ensure protection from coronavirus," he said.