Delhi begins random tests as part of plan to contain covid’s spread

The Delhi government on Tuesday announced a five-point plan to deal with coronavirus, including treating up to 39,000 patients and conducting “rapid random” testing in hotspots.

The other parts of the plan include tracing patients, teamwork with central and state governments, and tracking.

The national capital has one of the highest number of covid-19 cases in the country at 525. Of this, 329 are from last month’s gathering in Nizamuddin, which is the largest hotspot in the city.

The Delhi government plans to start random rapid testing in these hotspots to see the spread of the virus, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said.

“We need to learn from other countries how to tackle this disease. We need to be three steps ahead of the disease. We have come out with a five-step plan to tackle corona. From Friday we will be equipped to hold rapid tests. Wherever we have hotspots like Markaz and Dilshad Garden we will hold random tests,” Kejriwal said at a press conference.

The second step is tracing, the chief minister said.

“We will monitor people who have been asked to self quarantine and also seal areas that see a spike in cases to reduce the spread. We have also tied up with the police to track phones of those who are in home quarantine to ensure they follow it,” Kejriwal said.

Lok Nayak Hospital, G.B. Pant Hospital, and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital will be used only to treat covid-19 patients, the government said.

“Four hundred beds in hospitals, including Max, Apollo, and Ganga Ram have also been reserved for the treatment of covid-19. There are 525 patients so far and there are almost 3,000 beds earmarked for covid-19 patients. We are also prepping for ventilators, personal protective equipment kits and what numbers of such kits we will need,” said the chief minister.

Kejriwal said that if Delhi has 30,000 active patients, the government will take over 8,000 beds in hospitals and 12,000 hotel rooms, while about 10,000 patients will be accommodated in banquet halls and dharamshalas.