Delhi coronavirus rise: On ground, L-G order yet to take off

On Wednesday evening, Kejriwal said the Centre’s order was like “detention” for Covid patients: “Many Covid patients, who have mild or no symptoms, have reached out to me. If police or administration takes such people away, it is like detention for 15 days. If an elderly parent is at home and has tested positive but doesn’t have any symptoms, they can be taken care of properly at home. This order is not correct. If people can be cured at home, we should let them stay… Earlier, government doctors would go to their homes and assess if they need to be in hospital, care centres or at home… The Centre has ordered that those who test positive will have to go to Covid centres. Why should a person with fever stand in line? I request the Centre, which has been offering support and working with us, that this order be taken back.”

Sisodia also wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying the new protocol was not beneficial to patients or the administration: “Ever since a visit to a Covid care centre has been made mandatory, patients are suffering. Their first concern is how they will reach a Covid care centre for assessment and if they are assigned home isolation, how they will go back… Delhi is seeing 3,000-4,000 cases a day. From where will we get ambulances to take all these people to Covid centres?”

“For the district administration and health department teams… this job is nearly impossible… I request that you direct the L-G and do away with this protocol… otherwise this rule will lead to chaos in the city,” he wrote.

In his order, the L-G also said the services of a call centre hired by the Delhi government would be discontinued and a new mechanism put in place. But a new call centre has not been appointed so far, and district-level officials are making calls and ensuring contact tracing and testing. “Because people have now been asked to report to Covid care centres, and the call centre is not reaching out to them in 24 hours, many have no idea what they are supposed to do after testing positive. District-level officials are trying to contact as many people as possible, but shortage of manpower and ambulances is real… A new protocol at a time like this has created utter chaos,” said a senior government official, who did not want to be named.