Amit Shah orders urgent steps to contain COVID-19 spread in Delhi

Our Correspondent

In an urgent but much delayed move, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has ordered that the testing capacity for RT-PCR tests be doubled in Delhi, by optimally utilising the lab capacity within Delhi itself; through mobile testing labs, to be deployed by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW) and ICMR, in areas where poor and vulnerable sections of the society reside; by temporarily shifting some testing labs from other parts of the country, where they are unutilised and, by utilising spare capacity in neighbouring regions of Delhi. This was considered essential in order to bring down the infection rate in Delhi that has gone up substantially in recent weeks.

Mr. Shah’s directions came during a review meeting held on November 15 in the backdrop of rising number of cases and the increasing strain on the capacity of medical infrastructure in the hospitals of the Capital.

Mr. Shah also directed that the hospital capacity and medical infrastructure should be ramped up considerably. It was decided that 250-300 additional beds with ICUs would be added to the existing medical facility of DRDO at Dhaula Kuan, where, presently, around 250 beds have been provided with ICUs, out of the total available 1,000 COVID-19 beds. The 10,000 bed COVID Care Centre established at Chattarpur would also be strengthened, to enhance availability of beds with oxygen capacity. The Minister directed MOHF&W to make arrangements for requisite numbers of BIPAP machines and high flow nasal canulas to the Delhi Government within the next 48 hours.

In view of the shortage of medical staff in Delhi, the Centre has decided to provide additional doctors and paramedical staff from the CAPFs and they would soon be airlifted to Delhi. It was also decided that dedicated multi-departmental teams would visit all private hospitals in Delhi to check the availability of COVID-19 medical infrastructure vis-a-vis the admission status, and to ensure that the correct position of availability was displayed prominently.

A few identified hospitals of the Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCD) would also be converted as dedicated hospitals for COVID-19 treatment, especially for accommodating patients with milder symptoms. The strengthening of medical infrastructure should ensure that sufficient number of beds/ventilators/ICUs is available to take care of the rising number of cases in Delhi. It was also decided that MOHF&W will issue a standard protocol for plasma therapy and plasma administration for treatment of COVID-19 patients immediately.

The Home Minister also emphasised that containment measures instituted earlier, such as establishment of containment zones, contact tracing and quarantining, and screening, particularly of vulnerable sections of society, should be reviewed continuously, to ensure that there were no gaps in their implementation. There should be no letup in strictly enforcing these containment strategies. The concerned officers, particularly those at District levels, would be personally responsible for ensuring compliance in this regard, and any deviation observed in this regard would be viewed seriously.

Mr. Shah emphasised on the need to keep track of COVID-19 patients, who are in home isolation, and to ensure that they are shifted to regular hospitals, as soon as urgent medical attention is deemed necessary. Teams of AIIMS, Government of NCT of Delhi and Municipal Corporations (MCDs) of Delhi will conduct a house-to-house survey and all symptomatic persons found during the survey would be tested and provided treatment.

The Home Minister called for a strong communication strategy to educate people on COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, and inform them about the negative impact of the disease on long term medical and health parameters. He also directed the authorities of Delhi Government and Commissioner of police (CP), Delhi, to strictly enforce the necessary measures, especially wearing of face masks, so that there is no laxity in observance of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour.

The Minister reiterated the urgent need to bring down the incidence of COVID-19 in Delhi, and also ensure that there were no gaps in providing timely medical treatment to the affected persons, particularly those who are poor and vulnerable. He informed that the situation of Covid-19 in Delhi, as also in the neighboring areas of the National Capital Region (NCR), would be reviewed on a continuous basis.

The meeting was attended by Union Health Minister, Lt. Governor, Delhi; Chief Minister, Delhi; Health Minister, Delhi; Home Secretary; Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW); Dr. V.K Paul; Director, AIIMS; Director General, ICMR; Secretary, DRDO; Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS) and other senior officials.