NEW DELHI : Delhi will begin plasma transfusion trials to treat covid-19 patients, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday. The state government has already received approval from the Centre to conduct the trials.

Delhi has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country after Maharashtra, with more than 1,500 people testing positive for the disease. The state government aims to use the trials to help high-risk patients recover.

“There is a ray of hope. In some countries, plasma treatment was used and the response was good. The only way to permanently tackle coronavirus is for the vaccine to be available. However, if people are infected, they want a safe recovery from the disease. If the patient has some other ailment, the risk is higher. In such cases, if plasma technology is used the results are good," Kejriwal said at a press conference.

“Some doctors in Delhi have started working on this. We asked the central government for permission to start trials on this and they approved. We will begin trials and see the effect. If successful, this technique can be used on those who are very ill and can save their lives," he said.

The technology is based on the blood of patients, who have recovered from the disease. Once a person recovers, the blood builds the antibodies that helped them recover. Someone who has recovered needs to donate their blood. The plasma is taken out, enriched and injected into an infected patient. These antibodies help the other patient recover.

“We hope that this trial is successful and this will give some hope. Kerala and Maharashtra are also working on this," Kejriwal said.

There are so far 60 containment zones in Delhi. An area is made into a containment zone if there are three or more positive cases. The government said containment zones in Dilshad Garden and Vasundhara Enclave are showing improvement, with no positive cases in the areas in more than 10 days.

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