Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday asked Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev to install CCTV cameras in all Covid-19 wards of hospitals admitting coronavirus patients, ANI reported, quoting the Ministry of Home Affairs. Shah said installing the CCTV cameras will ensure proper monitoring of wards, and so resolve patients’ problems.
Shah also ordered Dev to establish secondary canteens to provide food at hospitals, so that in case there are infections in one canteen, patients can get food from the other one. He also advised Dev to arrange for psycho-social counselling of nurses and doctors engaged in treatment of coronavirus patients.
Shah said in a tweet that he paid a surprise visit to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital and interacted with the doctors and staff about the coronavirus situation. He said he also reviewed the hospital’s preparedness to deal with its coronavirus patients.
“I thank and salute all Corona warriors who are serving the country round the clock in these difficult times,” Shah tweeted.
Earlier in the day, Shah held an all-party meeting to discuss the rapidly worsening coronavirus situation in the national Capital. Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party attended the meeting.
During the meeting, Shah said that all parties should bury their differences and join the battle against Covid-19 in Delhi, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. “We will have to increase Covid-19 testing in Delhi by adopting new solutions,” Shah said. “United face of all political parties will enhance people’s trust and Covid-19 situation in Delhi will soon be normal.”
At the meeting, the Congress demanded the Centre should expand testing capacity for Covid-19 to include every citizen of Delhi. The home minister and Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal said this will be done.
The BJP demanded that the treatment costs at private hospitals be fixed and testing charges be reduced by 50%. BJP’s Delhi unit chief Adesh Kumar Gupta cited the home minister as saying that the Delhi government will start conducting 18,000 Covid-19 tests per day by June 20.
Delhi has been recording a daily increase in the number of coronavirus cases that has taken a toll on the city’s health infrastructure. Several reports have emerged of patients struggling to find hospital beds. On Friday, the Supreme Court had pulled up the Delhi government over the “deplorable conditions” at hospitals and the way bodies were being handled.
Delhi is the third worst coronavirus-affected region in India after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. On Sunday, the Capital reported 2,224 new cases, taking the total to 41,182. This was the highest single-day increase in the city.
On Sunday, the Delhi government ordered the setting up of 20,000 new beds for coronavirus patients within a week. There will be 11,000 beds in banquets halls, 5,000 in nursing homes and 4,000 in hotels.
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