Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the national capital received 730 MT of oxygen on Wednesday and the city would require daily supply of 700 MT till the second coronavirus wave lasts.

Kejriwal thanked the Centre on Thursday for supplying Delhi with 730 metric tonnes of oxygen and requested hospitals to increase COVID beds that they had to cut down due to shortage of the life-saving gas in the past few days. If 700 MT of daily oxygen supply is ensured by the Centre, Delhi government can set up around 9,000-9,500 more oxygen beds, CM  said.

He urged hospitals that were forced to cut down number of oxygen beds due to shortage of the gas in recent days, to increase it now to previous level. This way, he added, 1,000-2,000 more beds will be added, he said.

The national capital has witnessed an overwhelming 1,349 percent jump in the number of its COVID-19 containment zones in the past one month, with South Delhi accounting for the maximum 21,172 such zones out of the total 47,704, according to official figures. Northeast Delhi has 600 containment zones closely followed by East Delhi (504) which has the lowest number of such zones.

Around 28 lakh have received single-dose and 7.76 lakh both doses of the vaccine, he said. The chief minister cited ''enthusiasm'' among the youth for vaccines, saying 1.30 lakh people aged 18 years and above have been vaccinated in Delhi in the last three days.

Sri Lanka suspends travellers from India due to the record rise in COVID-19

BJP workers lights up candles in Tripura to protest Bengal violence

Pandemic Pushed 23 Crore Indians Into Poverty during the past one year: Report