Delhi L-G orders institutional quarantine for 5 days for Covid-19 patients, govt requests Centre to reconsider

Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal passed an order on Friday putting an end to the Delhi government’s home quarantine strategy.

As per the new rules, any person found positive for the novel coronavirus in Delhi will now be placed in mandatory institutional quarantine for at least five days. The patient will only be allowed to leave the quarantine centre once the symptoms subside.

In case symptoms flare up during this five-day period, the patient will be immediately recommended for hospitalization.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) reportedly observed that home isolation without physical contact to monitor patients may be a reason for the rise in Delhi’s Covid-19 graph.

Mandatory physical verification of those currently placed in home isolation will be carried out by surveillance teams under the District Magistrate’s supervision. Portea, a private company whose services were hired for communication with those in home-quarantine has also been discontinued.

In its response to the move, the Delhi government issued a statement saying that the home isolation program has been one of its most successful initiatives in the battle against Covid-19.

“We have treated thousands of mild and asymptomatic cases at home so far through daily monitoring and counselling. Home isolation protocol is being carried out strictly as per ICMR guidelines of the central government,” the statement added.

The Delhi government also said that home isolation encouraged many people with minor symptoms to come out and get tested for Covid-19. It went on to say that Delhi has already seen an escalating number of cases and have to prepare for patients from the entire region. “In addition to the 80,000 beds being planned for serious patients in July, we will have to add thousands of quarantine rooms.”

“ICMR guidelines are still applicable to the rest of India, then why are there different parameters for Delhi?” asked the government of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. In its statement, the Delhi government also made mention of a serious shortage of doctors and nurses to treat serious patients. “Where would medical manpower come for taking care of these quarantine centres?” it asked.

The statement further adds, “Entire manpower of Delhi govt is already stretched. Now, large quarantine centres would need to be made to house thousands of asymptomatic people. We have been completely supportive of the Central Govt in our collective fight against Corona, but this arbitrary decision will seriously harm Delhi. They should reconsider this decision.”

However, with LG’s order now in effect, several questions remain about how this decision could affect Delhi’s fight against Covid-19. These questions range from are there enough COVID centres in the national capital to whether the centres that exist but in bad shape will hold up. The argument that neighbouring Noida is following a similar protocol can be made only as long as one does not compare the population size of Noida and its case tally to that of Delhi.