Delhi L-G reverses Covid order on home isolation after meeting CM Kejriwal

Lt Governor Anil Baijal order implies that all Covid patients in Delhi will not have to queue up at Covid Care Centres for a clinical assessment

The Anil Baijal-led Delhi Disaster Management Authority on Thursday agreed to reverse his order that mandated all Covid-19 patients visit state-run Covid facilities for an evaluation. Baijal made the announcement on Twitter over the controversial rule that has drawn widespread criticism from the public and the Arvind Kejriwal government.

Lt Govenror Anil Baijal’s announcement means that Covid-19 patients will not have to queue up at Covid centres.

In two tweets, Baijal’s office said only Covid patients who do not have adequate facilities at home to ensure physical segregation and do not have other medical conditions would be shifted to Covid Care centres and other facilities.

Raj Niwas said the disaster management authority, which is empowered to notify Covid-19 rules for national capital Delhi, had agreed to modify the standard operating procedure to meet the twin objectives of “containment of local spread & provision of timely medical care for Covid positive cases”.

The decision was taken at the meeting of the state disaster management authority (SDMA) headed by the Lt Governor. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been a vocal critic of the June 20 order, is the vice chairperson.

Now mild and asymptomatic people in Delhi will not have to queue up at Covid Care Centres, or CCC, for their clinical assessment.

“Yes, the L-G has agreed to revert to the old system where a team led by the district surveillance officer (DSO) will visit the house of the Covid positive patient to decide whether home isolation can be recommended,” Sisodia told Hindustan Times before heading into a Press conference to make the formal announcement.

“The above decisions have been taken in accordance with the guidance given by Hon’ble Home Minister in the meeting held on 21.06.2020 to further review and strengthen the surveillance mechanism for Covid Positive cases in Delhi to prevent the spread of the disease and to provide timely medical care”: Anil Baijal

In a statement, the L-G office also clarified about the process of assessment. “It was decided that all cases who test positive by Rapid test for COVID-19 antigen will be examined by the Medical Officer on duty at the testing site to assess the severity of illness i.e. pre- symptomatic/asymptomatic/mild/moderate or severe. The assessment made by the Medical Officer on site shall effectively constitute an assessment made at the COVID Care Centre,” the statement read.

For those who test positive through RT-PCR Test, the patient shall be allowed home isolation if, as per the assessment of Home Isolation team sent by the District Surveillance Officer (DSO), the patient is mild/pre-symptomatic/asymptomatic and has a residence of two rooms or a separate room and a separate toilet for the patient. He/she will be provided a contact number for any consultation required by him along with details of CATS Ambulance call number for transfer to hospital in case symptoms develop, the L-G’s office said.

“If the said patient has moderate/severe symptoms with co-morbidities, he shall be transferred to the CCC/CHC/Hospital. In case his residence is not found to be fit for home isolation by the surveillance team, the patient will be admitted to COVID Care Centre for isolation as per MoHFW guidelines,” the statement read.