Report people with stamps, RWAS told

nNEWDELHI:THE Delhi government on Friday issued an advisory asking 1,000-odd residents welfare associations (RWA) in the city to raise the alarm if they spot any person, who has been home quarantined, ‘roaming openly’.

“It is informed that all home quarantined people have a stamp on their hand and if any person found roaming openly then please inform on the helpline 01125066674 or office of the concerned district magistrate (sic),” said the advisory, which HT has seen.

Starting Thursday, the government had started to mark home quarantine individuals with stamps on their forearms. So far, more than 2,500 people have been marked. The rest will be marked by Saturday, said a senior government official.

While high-risk individuals are quarantined in designated hospitals, moderate risk individuals are quarantined in government facilities – there are six of them in Delhi with a capacity of 1,400. Low risk – also referred to as Category C — individuals are allowed home quarantine. They are, however, subject to periodic physical inspection by health department officials.

According to the Union health ministry, Category-c individuals are asymptomatic passengers who have arrived from China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, France, Germany or any of the other Covid-19 affected nations in the last 14 days “prior to the onset of symptoms”. The individuals also have to be below 60 years age and free of ailments such as asthma, diabetes and hypertension.

Currently, there are around 5,500 Category-c individuals in Delhi, government officials said.

Earlier, the government used to check on Category-c individuals only through two phone calls a day. From Wednesday, HT reported, they started “surprise inspections” at their residences, following reports that individuals were escaping quarantine. Violation of the norms can lead them to be lodged in governmentoperated facilities.

“It is a welcome step. We should all work together in preventing the spread of coronavirus,” said BN Mahajan, general secretary RWA Laxminagar.

Irkan Chaudhary, RWA, Zakir Nagar, said: “It would have been better if the government had first provided us with a list of such individuals. Otherwise, who would keep looking at people’s forearms for stamps?”