Why are so many health workers infected in Delhi?
nNEW DELHI: In just over a month since the first Covid-19 case was reported in Delhi, at least 24 healthcare workers—doctors, nurses, sanitation staff—have tested positive for the disease.
Around 108 staff members from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital had to be quarantined after coming in contact with two Covid-19 cases unknowingly. Similarly, around 81 people from Maharaja Agrasen Hospital were quarantined after two of their patients tested positive for the disease. One doctor, three nurses, and a member of the housekeeping staff have also tested positive at the hospital.
So many healthcare workers have taken ill, at a time when the Delhi government is preparing for a surge in the numbers. Why are so many healthcare workers getting infected? Experts believe it is because they are out and about during the lockdown.
“Currently, most people are at home so they are not being exposed to the infection. However, doctors are more likely to come in contact with people who have the infection at hospitals and clinics. And, no matter how much screening you do, there is bound to be 20 to 30% of the people who will not have fever or cough yet will be able to transmit the infection to the doctors,” said Dr
Jugal Kishore, head of the department of community medicine at Safdarjung Hospital.
So, what can be done? Virologist Dr Jacob John says universal respiratory protection is what will keep the doctors safe for the upcoming surge. “Everyone needs to wear a mask and goggles that can be sanitised every day to prevent the infection from entering through their eyes. As for those in Covid-19 wards, the government has to ensure proper protection,” he said.
The government has now ensured that after working for 14 days at a time, all the healthcare workers in the Covid-19 wards get to stay in hostels on campus or in luxury hotels so that they do not go home and pass on the infection. Central government hospitals like Safdarjung and Dr RML, which also have isolation wards, have arranged for accommodation for healthcare workers in hostels on campus. The Delhi government has asked the centre for around 200,000 PPE kits.
“Doctors are a part of our society and they are susceptible to the infection like everyone else. We need to examine where all of them got the infection from. Plus, we also need to ensure not only the availability of PPE kits but also that they are being used and taken off properly,” said Dr DK Sharma, medical superintendent, AIIMS.