COVID-19: Delhi plans aggressive contract tracing as Shah holds third review meet with Kejriwal

New Delhi, June 21: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday held a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to review the coronavirus situation in the national capital, the third such meeting in a week.

During the meeting it was decided to hold more "robust" contact tracing, revamp the entire containment zone strategy and strengthen medical services in areas most affected by the virus.

The discussion was held on Dr Paul's Committee Report on Containment Strategy on COVID-19 in Delhi.

Major points of containment Strategy set by Dr Paul are:

• Renewed delimitation of Containment Zones.
• Strict monitoring & control over the limits & activities within Containment zones.
• Contact Tracing of all infected persons.
• Quarantining of Contacts, including use of Arogya Setu App.
• Each house outside containment zones should be listed monitored,through which Delhi can get complete information.
• COVID positive cases to be kept in a hospital, COVID Care Center or Home isolation.
• COVID Care Centers to be run properly with the help of voluntary organizations/NGOs.
• A Serological Survey will be conducted b/w 27 June and 10 July across Delhi.
• Samples of 20,000 people will be tested.
• An overall assessment of COVID infection will be done and a comprehensive strategy will be decided based on findings of the survey.

The meeting also called for a survey of 20,000 people by the NCDC (National Centre for Disexase Control) and DGHS (Directorate General of Health Services).

Last Sunday, Shah had held a meeting with the Chief Minister and health minister Satyendar Jain and issued a number of directions to contain and manage the spiralling cases of coronavirus in the national capital.

The series of meetings started after the Supreme Court pulled up Delhi and several other states earlier this month over their handling of the pandemic.

"COVID-19 patients are treated worse than animals. In one case, a body was found in the garbage. Patients are dying and nobody is there to even attend to them," the Supreme Court had said after media reports regarding Delhi's Lok Nayak Jai Prakash hospital.

The situation in Delhi was "horrendous, horrific and pathetic", the court remarked.

On Monday, Shah had held a meeting with political parties in the National Capital Region. He also visited the LNJP hospital, where among other things, he ordered the installation of CCTV cameras in the wards.