North Delhi's largest hospital shut after nurse tests COVID-19 positive

A nurse at a civic hospital in north Delhi tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday (April 25), following which the facility has been closed down, officials said.

The Hindu Rao Hospital run by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), has been temporarily shut for sanitisation and contact tracing, according to officials. Hindu Rao Hospital is the largest hospital in north Delhi, the civic agency on its website said, NDTV reports

“Late Saturday evening, a nurse on duty in Hindu Rao Hospital, was found positive for COVID-19. Since she has been on duty in various locations within the campus over the last two weeks, we are closing down the hospital till we fully sanitise and complete contact tracing,” NDMC Commissioner Varsha Joshi said.

The nurse is about 30 years old and was recently shifted from one of the AYUSH dispensaries to the hospital, Hindustan Times reported.

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Only some patients are admitted right now in gynaecology ward, and appropriate arrangements will be made for them, she added.

“There appears to be definite negligence at some level here,” she said, adding, “we will have a thorough inquiry into this aspect”.

Meanwhile, NDMC officials said a DBC workers test report has come contradictory, so on Saturday many workers have been re-tested at Hindu Rao Hospital, and results will come on Sunday.

These people are staying at a community hall in Tikona Park area, and chose not to go home till their test results come out, they said.

Also, on Saturday, orders and standard operating procedures were issued by the NDMC for all staff members on how suspected positive cases or quarantined cases are to be looked after.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the national capital on Saturday rose to 2625, with 111 new cases and one fresh death being reported in a day, according to the Delhi government authorities.

(With inputs from agencies)