One in every 25 infected persons is a healthcare worker

: One in every 25 people with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Delhi is a health care worker, with at least 42 doctors, nurses or hospital staff infected, according

: One in every 25 people with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Delhi is a health care worker, with at least 42 doctors, nurses or hospital staff infected, according to data from the state health department — a statistic that once again highlights the risks faced by front-line responders and concerns over adequate personal protection equipment (PPE) kits.

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Delhi reported a total of 1,069 cases till Saturday.

In addition, more than 400 health care workers across the city have been quarantined after coming in contact with people who later tested positive.

Two nurses tested positive for the infection Friday night -- one of them was posted in Lok Nayak hospital, making her the first health care worker testing positive in what is the biggest Covid-19 treatment centre in the city where at least 651 Covid-19 confirmed or suspected cases are admitted.

Around 25 others who came in contact with the nurse have been asked to go into quarantine. “She did not come in direct contact with any of the suspected patients. She has more of a managerial role and supervises the wards. And, we make sure anyone entering the wards dons personal protective equipment,” said a hospital official who asked not to be named.

The other nurse to test positive worked at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia hospital -- also the first from the centre to test positive.

Doctors from across the country have been complaining about the shortage and poor quality of PPE gear, such as masks, face shields, coveralls and gloves.

“When health care workers are affected, it takes away active people from the service and also results in clusters around hospitals. It can paralyse the health system in pockets, with hospital after hospital being closed down because of infections,” said Dr T Jacob John, professor emeritus and former head of the department of virology at Christian Medical College, Vellore.

With 22 of its staff testing positive, the highest number of health care workers have tested positive at the Delhi State Cancer Institute, which has now been closed.

Two of the first doctors to have tested positive were from mohalla clinics in north-east Delhi.

“This trend is more than worrying. And, not only in Delhi, this is happening across India. And the problem lies in government denying community transmission. There are some universal precautions to protect the eyes, nose, and mouth that must be taken by all health care workers in primary, secondary or tertiary settings. But because the government kept denying community transmission, we kept screening people depending on their history of travel or contact,” said Dr Jacob John.

Community transmission is the third of the four stages of the spread of an infectious disease. The first is travel history, the second is local transmission, the third is community transmission, and the fourth is epidemic. India has maintained that the disease is in the second stage, or between stage two and stage three with “limited community transmission” in some clusters.