Delhi govt shuts paid quarantine facility at Aerocity

Once the largest quarantine cluster facility in the country, the paid quarantine centres in Aerocity near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport were shut

Once the largest quarantine cluster facility in the country, the paid quarantine centres in Aerocity near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport were shut by the Delhi government on Friday. From now, all Covid-19 suspected patients will be taken directly to government quarantine centres set up in various parts of the national capital.

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The paid centres were opened on the night of March 16 at five hotels of Aerocity — Red Fox, IBIS, Aloft, Holiday Inn, and Pride Plaza — and as many as 608 people were put under quarantine.

Most of the them were passengers who had arrived at the Delhi airport from other countries and had to undergo the mandated quarantine.

According to district magistrate (New Delhi) Tanvi Garg, of the 608 people under quarantine, five tested positive for Covid-19. Three of them had come from the Untied States while two were from Australia.

“The Aerocity’s paid quarantine facility saw the last batch of passengers check out on Thursday. With this, the paid quarantine achieved its purpose successfully with only five positive (asymptomatic) cases. The remaining 603 persons were discharged after they tested negative for Covid-19,” Garg said. The five Covid-19 patients are being treated at Lok Nayak hospital.

Piyush Rohankar, the area’s subdivisional magistrate and the nodal officer of the paid facility, said the hotel quarantine facility has now been closed by the government.

“Now, every district has quarantine centres, so there is no need for the paid facility anymore. In case there is a spurt in cases, then the government itself will book the hotels. The people will not have to pay,” he said.

A few persons who stayed at the quarantine facility told HT over phone that some of them had to stay there even after their 14-day mandatory quarantine was over as the government did not have a standard operating procedure (SoP) in place for their movement, what with the 21-day nationwide lockdown in place from March 24.

“Although my quarantine got over last week, I had to stay on as officials could not tell us how we could go back to our homes. Cabs are not plying and friends or family could not come because of the lockdown. From this week, they started issuing transit passes which is acceptable all over India for a fixed period of time,” a 47-year old man, who did not wish to be named, said.

It was only on April 4 that Delhi chief secretary Vijay Dev issued the SoP which allowed persons who have completed their mandatory 14-day quarantine period to return home via routes approved by the district administration and within a specified time frame.

“Transport arrangement has to be made by the person and transit for fixed route with specified validity for such person will be issued by district magistrate of district concerned. Such person will further remain under home quarantine for a period of 14 days, as per standard protocol on the matter; the details of such person will be shared with State/UT Government for necessary follow-up,” read the SoP.

Rohankar, who issued the transit passes for all the hotel quarantine persons, said there were people who went as far as Andhra Pradesh by road. He, however, refused to provide the contact details of such persons citing confidentiality.

But, Sudipto Chakraborty (27), who left the quarantine facility on April 5 had no option but to shift to another hotel in Delhi.

“While leaving, they gave us a certificate for completing the mandatory quarantine and also the Covid-19 test report. My home is in Assam, and the authorities offered a cab on payment basis. But, I opted out because it would have cost me a bomb to go all the way to the north-east in a cab. So, I am staying in another hotel in Delhi,” he said.

“I got a call form the district administration today. They asked me about my health and if I am showing any flu-like symptoms. So, they are doing solid follow-up even on those who have completed the quarantine,” Chakraborty said.