As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage on in India, the Delhi & District Cricket Association has extended a helping hand by offering its premises of the Arun Jaitley Stadium to be used as a vaccination site.
The DDCA president Rohan Jaitley has already informed the Delhi government about their step.
“I had written that if they feel that they require a centre for vaccination, the DDCA premises can be used till normalcy returns,”
he told PTI on Saturday.
The Arun Jaitley Stadium was one of the six stadiums in use for the suspended IPL 2021 season. Hence, it is assumed to have proper healthcare facilities installed inside the stadium and prepared to be used to combat COVID-19.
“In our stadium premises we have a facility where 10,000 people can be vaccinated per day. If they want, till the time there is some semblance of normalcy, they can use it till cricketing activity resumes,”
Jaitley further added.
A government representative has assured the DDCA that the chief secretary will be looking into this matter. A few days ago, the DDCA also offered hundred non-invasive ventilators and a hundred oxygen concentrators to the Delhi government for improving healthcare resources in the national capital and 25 additional oxygen concentrators for the members, officers and employees of the DDCA.
Delhi has been one of the worst COVID hit cities in India. However, the official number of new cases has dipped over the past few days. Delhi has administered more than 45 lakh vaccine doses since 16th January. The union territory has a mission to vaccinate most of its population as soon as possible in order to achieve herd immunity.
At the beginning of this month, the central government launched phase 3 of COVID-19 vaccination with a ‘liberalised and accelerated’ strategy, with people above the age of 18 being eligible for vaccination.
The initiative taken by DDCA will help ramp up the vaccination process in Delhi and encourage other big stadiums and facilities across India to come forward and offer themselves in combating COVID-19.
