Scramble for beds, ambulances, confusion before order reversed

On Saturday evening, the L-G issued a fresh order saying only those needing hospitalisation and not having adequate facilities for home isolation would have to undergo institutional quarantine.

By Saturday evening when Delhi L-G Anil Baijal revised his Friday’s order to put all Covid-19 patients who were under home isolation in institutional quarantine, officials in many districts had already put many in the quarantine centres while others were scrambling to arrange beds and ambulances needed for such patients.

A health worker wearing PPE coveralls collects swab sample from a woman at a COVID-19 testing centre, near Turkman Gate, in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

On Saturday evening, the L-G issued a fresh order saying only those needing hospitalisation and not having adequate facilities for home isolation would have to undergo institutional quarantine.

Officials in at least three districts -- South, Southwest and West -- confirmed to HT sending patients in home isolation to quarantine centres since Friday evening. In the Southwest district, there were even cases where asymptomatic persons who tested positive for Covid refused to get into an ambulance and threatened to take legal recourse, a senior official in the district said on condition of anonymity.

Throughout the day, several Covid-19 patients currently under home isolation were moved to Covid care centres even as the government was engaged in a dialogue with the L-G for overturning the decision of five-day mandatory home isolation.

“Several ambulances had been kept ready for moving patients from home isolation to the centres. We were getting calls from the district authorities about the transfer. But, the problem was that many of the centres were refusing to admit the patients. Some of the ambulance were on call for two to three hours waiting with the patient at the centres to see whether they would be admitted,” said a CATS (Centralised Accident and Trauma Services) Ambulance employee on condition of anonymity.

For most part of the day, officers were also confused whether the order was also applicable on the 10,490 Covid patients who were in home quarantine till Friday. Later, principal secretary (health and family welfare) Vikram Dev Dutt clarified to all officers that people in home isolation till June 19 were not supposed to be sent to the quarantine centres unless anyone was found violating the ICMR guidelines.

At the same time districts such as Shahdara and East chose to wait until there is more clarity on the matter. District magistrates, who are responsible to arrange such facilities and requisition them accordingly, said had the L-G’s order not been withdrawn they would have had no option but to compromise on the quality and safety parameters.

“If we actually had to continue keeping everyone under institutional isolation, we would have had to take over all stadiums and even the smallest dharamshalas apart from the banquet halls and hotels, some of which are paid facilities. The middle and upper middle class residents already complained to us after the order as to why they are being subjected to opt for paid and substandard facilities when they can get cured in their homes,” said an official in the South district.

In Shahdara, the quarantine facility running in the Mandoli police quarters had gloomy state of affairs. In some flats, the beds were laid out on the floor while only a few had cots. The toilets in these flats were dirty and unkempt. There was no hot drinking water facility, a basic requirement for Covid patients.

Officials in the Shahdara district also said they reached out to the Northern Railways on Saturday after the L-G’s order to ready the railway coaches at Anand Vihar.

When it comes to toilets, the ratio was even worse in some of the banquet halls, 77 of which have been identified to create over 11,000 beds. HT visited three banquet halls ---- two in Karol Bagh and one opposite Lok Nayak hospital and saw there were two toilets for 50 persons and no bathrooms. Some had three. Besides, there were no charging points or tables or chairs available with the beds to charge phones or keep essential items.

When asked about these problems a government spokesperson said facilities in banquet halls and hotels are still being readied and that the issues highlighted will be addressed.

With monsoon expected by next week, at least four DMs HT spoke to on Saturday said mosquitoes were turning out to be major issue in their respective centres. Some said they were ordering mosquito nets while others were procuring coils.

“We are placing orders for mosquito nets. With monsoon coming the problem is going to get even bigger. Already we have started getting a lot of complaints,” said an official who manages the quarantine centres set up in government flats in Narela.

Heat is another major problem which these centres are battling with. While coolers are being arranged at some places, some authorities are also resorting to trying different initiatives to finding solutions to the problems.

In South Delhi’s Radha Saomi Satsan Beas facility which is touted to be the country’s biggest CCC with a capacity of 10,000 beds, the workers of the religious institute were found applying mud packs on the floors to keep the shed cool.

To bring down the temperatures inside the train coaches, railway officials said they are considering using “bubble sheets” on the roof of the coaches which could bring down temperatures “by three-four degrees.”

One aspect which all officials agreed would not be a problem is food. “We have done it during the lockdown. Food was being prepared in a decentralized manner for around 12 lakh people every day. So that is one thing which is doable,” an official, who did not wish to be named, said.

For the districts which on Saturday actually began to take away Covid positive persons in their government-run quarantine facilities, also known as Covid care centres (CCCs), the respective administrations said at the city’s current positivity rate, the available beds would last only for about five days.

In Delhi, the average rate of samples testing positive for Covid-19, has grown from 7% on May 17 to over 31% on June 17.