Coronavirus: Buses, metro to be disinfected on regular basis, says Delhi CM Kejriwal
New Delhi, Mar 08: The Delhi government has ordered DTC and cluster buses, metro and hospitals to be disinfected on a regular basis as a precautionary measure to deal with the novel coronavirus, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said that three cases of coronavirus have been reported in Delhi so far and one case is still under investigation.
The chief minister said that 168 isolation beds have been set up at 25 hospitals for coronavirus patients. He appealed to the people in Delhi that if anybody from their neighbourhood had returned from foreign countries in the past 14 days, they should inform the government.
The
chief
minister,
who
chaired
a
state
task
force
on
Sunday,
said
the
government
was
fully
prepared
to
deal
with
the
novel
coronavirus,
adding
that
people
do
not
need
to
panic.
"An
order
has
been
issued
to
disinfect
DTC,
cluster
buses,
Delhi
Metro
and
hospitals
every
day,"
he
said.
"Three cases of coronavirus have been reported in Delhi so far. One case is still under under investigation. I want to tell this to everyone that the Delhi government is worried about it but we are fully prepared to tackle it. There is no need to panic and we need everyone's cooperation," he said.
After examining the three cases, it was learnt that the first infected person came in contact with 105 people, second came in contact with 168 in the last 14 days while the third person came in contact with 64 people, he said.
"All those who came in contact with them are being isolated and their samples are being collected and checked for symptoms," he added.
Healthy people need not wear mask and there is no need to stock up masks at your homes either, he said. He also urged people to wash their hands frequently with soap and water. All passengers at the airport are being screened.
Forty doctors of Delhi Government hospitals are deployed at the airports for the purpose. All those passengers who undergo thermal screenings at the airport once they go home, especially those from Delhi, are being kept under watch for 14 days to check for symptoms.
"1,40,603 passengers have been screened at the airports so far and have been put on surveillance," he said.
Kejriwal also appealed to employers to give paid leave to those quarantined so that their livelihood is not affected. The chief minister said that now 25 hospitals have the facilities where one can submit the samples.
Out
of
the
25
hospitals,
six
are
private
hospitals
while
others
are
those
of
the
Delhi
Government.
"We
are
making
separate
facilities
for
collection
of
samples
and
treatment
in
these
hospitals
so
that
if
any
patient
arrives
there,
they
don't
come
in
contact
with
others,"
he
said.
Conveying
his
greetings
for
Holi,
Kejriwal
urged
people
of
Delhi
to
avoid
going
to
crowded
areas
and
save
themselves
from
coronavirus.