Quarantined seek luxury facilities

Indian nationals in quarantine are giving the Indian army, running the coronavirus quarantine facility at Manesar, a headache, by demanding specially prepared food, separate rooms with attached bathrooms and five-star facilities.

The Army is spending

`3.5 lakh per day on the Manesar facility where

455 individuals, mostly Indians, who were evacuated from Wuhan (248), Japan (124) and Italy (83) have been quarantined in three batches.

Some Indians and foreign nationals of Indian origin who came from Italy created chaos on Wednesday with their demands.

Many refused to step out of the buses and the administrators made extra “efforts” to bring them into the facility.

Sources managing Manesar said it was an emergency facility consisting of temporary barracks for accommodation, administration, and medical facilities.

“It was created so that those quarantined could be monitored for two weeks by a team of doctors and staff to watch for signs of infection. The quarantine facility established by Indian Army is an emergency facility and not a luxury retreat,” said sources.

From Page 1

Since the evacuees already travelled together, individual quarantine for 14 days may not find much merit. “Despite differing individual preferences and demands, the administrators running the facility have gone about doing their job in the best possible way," said sources.

Currently, 83 individuals who arrived from Italy on Wednesday are quarantined at the facility at Manesar, including 74 Indian nationals and nine foreigners of Indian origin. The individuals from Wuhan have been discharged and 124 from Japan have completed their 14-day isolation and are ready to leave.

To prevent a mass outbreak, the facility has been divided into sectors, each with a maximum capacity of 50. The sectors are not allowed to intermingle.

“Daily medical examination of evacuees is being done at the medical facility area. All are required to wear a threelayered mask at all times,” said sources.

After 14 days, persons with no symptoms are allowed to go home with their detailed documentation sent to the local surveillance units. Those infected are shifted to isolation facilities for further medical treatment and recovery.

“Apart from games, TV and meals together within a barrack, patients are not allowed to interact with the members of another barrack or sector,” sources added.