Delhi designates 25 hospitals for coronavirus; Sisodia says no need to panic

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier called an emergency meeting to take stock of the situation and know about the steps taken to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and health minister Satyendra Jain said on Tuesday that the Delhi government has designated 25 hospitals for the treatment of coronavirus, which has infected a person from the national capital.

Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia and health minister Satyendra Jain said on Tuesday that the Delhi government has designated 25 hospitals for the treatment of corona virus, which has infected a person from the national capital, at Delhi Secretariat in New Delhi (Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times)

“We have made elaborate arrangements to tackle coronavirus. Ram manohar Lohia (RML) and Safdarjung are the designated nodal hospitals in the city. Apart from these, 25 other hospitals - 19 government and six private - have been designated to treat coronavirus patients,” said Jain.

Sisodia said that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was informed about the one positive case in Delhi. “In 25 hospitals, there are isolation wards too,” said Sisodia.

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The Deputy Chief Minister also asked people to take care of basic hygiene to prevent the spread of this “flu-like” disease. “We have to take care of personal hygiene and develop a habit of washing our hands frequently,” said Sisodia.

Only one confirmed case has been reported in Delhi, so there is no need to panic, said Sisodia.

Earlier, Kejriwal had called an emergency meeting with the health department to prevent a possible outbreak of coronavirus in the national capital.

The call for the meeting came hours after Kejriwal in a courtesy meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the spread of coronavirus in Delhi and parts of the national capital region (NCR). “I also discussed about coronavirus in the meeting with the PM and it was agreed upon that both the central and the Delhi governments will work together to tackle this deadly disease,” Kejriwal said after meeting Modi.

The PM also tweeted minutes urging people not to panic after reviewing preparedness to fight coronavirus.

“There is no need to panic. We need to work together, take small yet important measures to ensure self-protection,” he tweeted.

So far, the virus has spread to nearly 60 countries and infected more than 85,000 people. Delhi reported its first case of coronavirus on Monday after a person who had visited Italy tested positive for Covid-19.

On Tuesday, panic gripped parents of a private school in Noida, which has now declared a three-day closure, after it emerged that the children of the Delhi man diagnosed infected by the novel Coronavirus study in the school. Shortly after, another school in the area announced that it will remain shut till March 9.