Delhi government joins hands with civil society groups in fight against Covid-19
New Delhi: The Delhi government’s Information Technology department will set up a web portal where people who want to take part in the city’s Covid-19 management efforts can sign up, said senior officials on Friday, in a move aimed at simplifying the registration process for NGOs, civil society groups and individuals.
The direction, issued by chief secretary Vijay Dev, is part of the Delhi government’s augmentation plan, which demands more people be roped in to take part in various aspects of the fight against the infectious disease in the coming days.
The volunteers will be engaged in several tasks, including surveillance, managing patients under home isolation, working with government helplines, assisting senior citizens, and helping officials in makeshift Covid facilities being set up by the government, Dev said.
The volunteers should be between 18 and 55 years of age, physically “fit” and free of Covid symptoms, read the order that HT has seen.
“A volunteer’s fitness, in this case, will be determined through a basic screening process. It primarily means no co-morbid conditions,” a senior government official said.
The official said preference should be given to people who have recovered from Covid, as a “confidence-building measure”.
In the same order, the government also directed all district magistrates in Delhi to use the same web portal for registration of National Cadet Corps, Scouts, and National Service Scheme cadets for management work.
The cadets shall be roped in for the same roles applicable to NGOs, civil society groups and individual volunteers, the order read.
The order is based on directions between Union home minister Amit Shah, Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in a meeting on Sunday, said the senior government official quoted above.
Kejriwal had said last week that the Capital is likely to have around 550,000 cases of Covid-19 by July 31, and would need at least 80,000 beds ready. The government had started a health care infrastructure augmentation drive after the city started recording over 1,000 cases per day on an average May 28 onwards.
The government is also likely to induct around 12,000 more civil defence volunteers — taking their strength to around 25,000 — by next week and use their services in the augmentation process.