Only small fraction of patients reaching Covid centres in Delhi for screening

According to the state government data, which HT has reviewed, 294 Covid-positive patients were screened across 19 CCCs on Monday. The number dropped to 144 on Tuesday.

Only 438 patients who tested positive for Covid-19 were able to reach Covid Care Centres (CCC) for a clinical assessment — as mandated by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority on Saturday — on Monday and Tuesday due to lack of transportation, according to Delhi government data.

There were 6,856 new cases added on Monday and Tuesday. (Reuters file photo)

There were 6,856 new cases added on Monday and Tuesday.

The Delhi government has strongly opposed a June 20 order by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), headed by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal -- all persons who test positive for Covid-19 are to be taken to CCCs for a clinical assessment, to determine if the patient should be recommended home isolation or be admitted to a facility -- on the grounds that it will be impractical to implement and put an unneccesary strain on infrastructure.

According to the state government data, which HT has reviewed, 294 Covid-positive patients were screened across 19 CCCs on Monday. The number dropped to 144 on Tuesday.

Data for Sunday — a day after the DDMA order was issued -- and Wednesday was not immediately available, but district officials said the turnout at the centres on Sunday was low.

On Wednesday, districts continued to face difficulties in transporting patients to these centres and sending them home, if cleared for home isolation.

The Capital’s 163 dedicated Covid-19 ambulances have already been burdened with the city recording an average of more than 3,000 cases a day over the last week.

The East district administration on Wednesday even requisitioned DTC buses to ferry Covid-19 patients to care centres.

Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who holds temporary charge of the health ministry, wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, urging him to revert to the previous system.

District officials said the rule is mandatory since it has now been ordered by the Directorate General of Health Services as well, and needs to be enforced, but added that they were asking the police to intervene only in some rare cases.

“It’s wrong to trouble a Covid-positive person by calling in the police. We are trying our best to convince people to go to centres for the clinical assessment. The use of force is a last resort and is seldom being used in this scenario,” said a government official who asked not to be named.

“The number of Covid patients who are being screened at the CCCs is turning out to be very low. This is because it is practically impossible to bring everyone to these centres. A few asymptomatic patients were also unwilling to go, saying they did not see the rationale behind a second round of screening after testing positive through an RT-PCR test,” said a south district official on condition of anonymity.

Reports showed that over the past two days, most patients who were screened at CCCs were at the one in the DDA flats in Narela and DUSIB flats in Dwarka Sector 16. Both centres screened 79 people on Monday and Tuesday. In Shahdara district’s CCC at the police quarters in Mandoli, 62 people were screened. At Teerapanth Bhawan in South district, just 61 underwent screening.

Of the 19 CCCs in the city, there are at least eight facilities where no newly tested positive patients were screened on Monday and Tuesday. These include the CCCs in the Police Training School (PTS) Dwarka, Birla Mandir Dharamshala and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg. Only between 10 and 12 people were screened at Care Centres in Bakkarwala and PTS Wazirabad.