Union Home Minister Amit on Sunday held his third meeting in a week with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to discuss the coronavirus situation in the Capital. In a significant change in the strategy to contain the Capital’s outbreak, the Delhi government has been asked to demarcate containment zones afresh and report each coronavirus death to the Centre.
On Sunday, Delhi reported 3,000 new coronavirus cases and 63 deaths. The Capital’s overall county went up to 59,746 and the toll reached 2,175. More than 33,000 people in Delhi have recovered.
Shah also instructed officials to conduct a serological survey in the Capital from June 27 to July 10, according to statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The survey will test residents for antibodies that suggest they had already been infected with and thus may be immuned. Under this exercise, 20,000 people will be tested for the coronavirus.
The home minister directed the Delhi government to submit a detailed report of every coronavirus death to the Centre. “The Union home minister directed the Delhi government to conduct assessment in respect of every dead individual as regards how many days before death the person was brought to hospital and from where,” the Centre said. “A special focus has to be given about whether the person was in home isolation and whether the person was brought to hospital at the right time or not.”
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At the meeting, Shah told the Delhi government that every person who tests positive for the coronavirus must first be referred to Covid-care centres. “Those who have adequate facilities at home and do not suffer from other co-morbidities, can be allowed to stay in home isolation,” the home ministry said.
The rejig in the coronavirus strategy for Delhi is based on a report submitted by a committee led by NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul. The report was presented during the meeting on Sunday.
The Delhi government has been instructed to again demarcated all the 242 containment zones in the Capital. Strict monitoring and control of activities in these zones have been recommended by the committee. Health officials have been instructed to extensively carry out contact tracing and quarantining.
The Centre has fixed deadlines for the Delhi government to implement all the recommendations. The government will be required to come up with a plan by June 22, form district-level teams by June 23 and mark all containment zones afresh by June 26. The complete survey of people living in containment zones have to be completed by June 30.
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