Kejriwal sets up task force as Delhi sees surge in coronavirus cases

Amid mounting worries over the sudden spike in coronavirus cases, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday (March 4) formed a task force and said efforts are on to screen people who came in contact with the infected Delhi man and 16 Italian tourists.

As part of the preventive measures, many resident welfare associations and schools in the city and its outskirts cancelled events involving gatherings.

“Isolation wards in 19 government and six private hospitals across the national capital have been kept ready in case they are needed and thermal scanning of all passengers landing from abroad is being conducted at the airport,” Kejriwal said.

The man from Delhi who tested positive on Monday (March 2) is among the 29 confirmed cases in the country. Among the 28, 16 are Italian tourists who had travelled by road and stayed at two hostels here.

Despite appeals by authorities to not panic, several people complained that masks and sanitisers were unavailable at chemists’ and other shops. Online sellers too were showing them out of stock.

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Asked about alleged black-marketing of masks and hand sanitisers in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, Kejriwal said the government will look into it and take all necessary preventive steps. He asserted there was no shortage of masks.

Worried over the spread of the virus, three schools in the national capital and adjoining areas announced holidays for students and staff, while two schools advanced their spring break and others sent out advisories to parents. Most of the schools have cancelled their planned events and several were planning to sanitise premises.

A large number of people commuting through the metro were seen wearing masks or covering their faces.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said it would increase the frequency of cleaning its premises in view of the coronavirus outbreak. It has also issued Do’s and Dont’s in both English and Hindi regarding the virus.

Atul Goyal, president of the United Residents Joint Action (URJA) — the apex body of Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in Delhi — said it has also issued an advisory to all RWAs to not have public engagements or Holi Milan due to coronavirus scare.

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“Holi is approaching but most of the RWAs will not be celebrating Holi. We have issued an advisory to all RWAs to not have public engagements and avoid the use of water in view of the coronavirus scare,” he said.

Sports and recreational classes were also being cancelled by some organisers.

Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said a state-level task force headed by him has been formed to tackle the emerging situation and there is no need to panic. “We are concerned about the situation but there is no need to panic. We are doing whatever we can to check the coronavirus from spreading… members of all the important departments in Delhi, state officials, and police officials have been included in the task force,” he said.

A coronavirus testing lab will be set up at the Lady Hardinge Hospital and also at the LNJP Hospital if necessary, the chief minister said.

“We have one confirmed case in Delhi till now and the patient has been admitted to Safdarjung Hospital. He is the resident of Mayur Vihar, who had travelled first from Italy to Budapest and then from Vienna to Delhi.

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“We have identified 88 people who he came in contact with after coming back to India. We are trying to conduct screening on all those 88 identified people,” he told reporters.

Kejriwal said thermal scanning of all the passengers landing from abroad is being conducted on the airports. They are referred to the RML hospital in case any symptoms are observed, Kejriwal added.

Until now, 1,16,579 patients have been screened at the airport.

On the Italian tourists, he said, they “had come from Italy and were staying in Surya hotel. But we have also traced and identified the people who had come in contact with those passengers and they have been kept in isolation”.

“Around 13-14 rooms of the hotel have been sealed to ensure that they properly sanitised before putting into use,” he said.

“The same steps have been taken in the Grand Hotel, where they stayed afterward. The passengers are currently in Chhawla ITBP camp and we are preparing to transfer them to Safdarjung Hospital for treatment as they have been found positive,” he said.

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Municipal bodies are also contacting and screening tourists from four countries — China, Iran, Italy and South Korea — where most cases of the infection have come to light. The screening is being done at hotels and guesthouses in the city, he said.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) said it has formed two rapid response teams for the screening of residents who visited coronavirus-affected countries after January 15 and has already screened 56 houses.

The NDMC area has residences of lawmakers and other VIPs, besides the Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, diplomatic enclave and five-star hotels.

The civic body has also asked all hotels and guest houses in the area to send reports regarding guests coming from the affected countries or any person showing symptoms of fever or flu.

On Tuesday, a five-star hotel asked its staff, who were present at one of its restaurants where an individual tested positive for coronavirus dined on February 28, to go on self-quarantine for 14 days.

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Earlier in the day, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan held a meeting with Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain and civic body officials and urged them to augment facilities of isolation wards in city hospitals if more cases are confirmed.

Kejriwal said school children also need to be made aware of coronavirus and steps to prevent the disease from spreading.

The Jamia Millia Islamia organised an awareness lecture on COVID-19 which was attended by over 200 students.

The traders’ association were doing their bit including procuring masks and distributing them to customers.

Ashok Randhawa, president of the Sarojini Nagar mini-market traders association, said they will also put up banners in the market informing people about various precautions to be taken in the wake of the current situation.

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“We will be distributing masks to customers who visit the market. We are planning to procure 1,000 to 2,000 masks in the next few days and will be distributing them to customers,’ he said.

Atul Bhargava of the New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA), under which the Connaught Place market comes, said he has been creating awareness among traders of the market by sending messages on two WhatsApp groups of their association.

The Khan Market sees a high footfall of foreign tourists. Sanjeev Mehra of the Khan Market Traders Association said the tourists visiting the market themselves are quite aware and can be seen wearing masks.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga has urged the police to suspend the use of breath analyser tests for alcohol consumption.

Giving a break-up of those who have tested positive for the virus, Harsh Vardhan had said out of the total 28 COVID-19 cases in India, one person is from Delhi, six of his relatives in Agra, 16 Italians and their Indian driver, one in Telangana and the three earlier cases in Kerala.

(With inputs from agencies)