Covid-19: Delhi govt cancels leaves of staff of state-run hospitals

The Delhi government on Saturday ordered state-run hospitals in the capital to cancel leaves of all staff members and recall them to boost the fight against the

The Delhi government on Saturday ordered state-run hospitals in the capital to cancel leaves of all staff members and recall them to boost the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with Deputy CM Manish Sisodia takes stock of a Covid care centre with 450 beds which is all set to open, at Burari in New Delhi. (PTIhttps://twitter.com/ArvindKejriwal)

“All MSs/MDs/Dean/Directors of the hospitals/medical institutions under Health and Family Welfare Department are hereby advised to issue directions to all the staff working under their control who are on leave of any kind to immediately report for their duties in their concerned hospitals/medical institutions without fail…. Leave of any kind to staff may be granted only under most compelling circumstances,” the Delhi government’s special secretary of health department, S M Ali said in the order.

The national capital where the Covid-19 tally has gone past 53,000 has been battling a massive surge in the rate of infections in recent weeks.

The order comes a day after Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal ordered five-day institutional quarantine for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients before they are sent for home quarantine

On Saturday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal raised concerns over the LG’s order saying there will be chaos if home isolation of Covid-19 patients ends and every asymptomatic patient is sent to institutional quarantine.

Earlier this month, the government estimated Delhi could have over 5.5 lakh cases of Covid-19 by the end of July.