Coronavirus: Nearly 900 quarantined in Delhi after doctor tests positive
Close to 900 people in Delhi were quarantined after a doctor in one of the Mohalla clinics tested positive for coronavirus, a minister said on Thursday. The doctor was infected by a woman, who had a travel history to Saudi Arabia and visited him on March 12 after developing COVID-19 symptoms. The doctor's wife and his teen daughter have also tested positive.
The woman returned on March 10 and as many as five people from her family got infected. This includes her mother, her brother, two daughters aged more than 20, and a relative who picked her from the airport. Five days after her visit to the clinic in Maujpur area, the woman tested positive. That day, the doctor was admitted to a hospital too.
Between March 12 and 17, the doctor continued to treat patients, probably oblivious to the fact that he had been infected too. Initially, the doctor was taken to GTB Hospital but after he complained of breathing problems, he had to be shifted to Safdarjung Hospital on Monday night, a TOI report said. He was shifted to an isolation room after being stable.
After the reports came in, the Delhi government started screening all who may have come in contact with him. Health Minister Satyendar Jain said hundreds have been isolated for 14 days. The number of infected persons in the National Capital stands at 36, Jain informed.
After the doctor was found to be positive, there were concerns about the functioning of Mohalla clinics, one of the most ambitious projects of Kejriwal's government. Dispelling doubts, Kejriwal, in a press meet earlier today, said, these facilities will work, despite the case, else poor will have to visit faraway hospitals, which are also costly. He said the staff will take precautions.
Further, the state government also said essential services will not be hampered in the lockdown. "Online service providers/e-retailers delivering essential services and goods to be allowed. All essential services shops can remain open 24 hours so that there is no rush of people," L-G Anil Baijal, who was also present there, said. Across India, the number of cases has reached 649. 13 have died.
