Scramble for beds, ambulances, confusion before order reversed

nNEW DELHI: By Saturday evening when Delhi L-G Anil Baijal revised his Friday’s order to put all Covid-19 patients who were under home isolation in institutional quarantine, officials in many districts had already put many in the quarantine centres while others were scrambling to arrange beds and ambulances needed for such patients.

On Saturday evening, the L-G issued a fresh order saying only those needing hospitalisation and not having facilities for home isolation would have to undergo institutional quarantine.

Officials in at least three districts -- South, Southwest and West -- confirmed to HT sending patients in home isolation to quarantine centres since Friday evening. In the Southwest district, there were even cases where asymptomatic persons who tested positive for Covid refused to get into an ambulance and threatened to take legal recourse, a senior official in the district said.

Throughout the day, several Covid-19 patients currently under home isolation were moved to Covid care centres even as the government was engaged in a dialogue with the L-G for overturning the decision of fiveday mandatory home isolation.

“Several ambulances had been kept ready for moving patients from home isolation to the centres. We were getting calls from the district authorities about the transfer. But, the problem was that many of the centres were refusing to admit the patients,” said a CATS (Centralised Accident and Trauma Services) Ambulance employee on condition of anonymity.

At the same time districts such as Shahdara and East chose to wait until there is more clarity on the matter. District magistrates, who are responsible to arrange such facilities and requisition them accordingly, said had the L-G’S order not been withdrawn they would have had no option but to compromise on the quality and safety parameters.

“If we actually had to continue keeping everyone under institutional isolation, we would have had to take over all stadiums and even the smallest dharamshalas apart from the banquet halls and hotels, some of which are paid facilities. The middle and upper middle class residents complained to us as to why they are being asked to opt for paid and substandard facilities when they can get cured in their homes,” said a South district official.

In Shahdara, the quarantine facility in Mandoli police quarters had gloomy state of affairs. In some flats, the beds were laid out on the floor while only a few had cots. The toilets in these flats were dirty. There was no hot drinking water facility, a basic requirement for Covid patients.

Officials in the Shahdara district also said they reached out to the Northern Railways on Saturday after the L-G’S order to ready the railway coaches at Anand Vihar.

When it comes to toilets, the ratio was even worse in some of the banquet halls, 77 of which have been identified to create over 11,000 beds. HT visited three banquet halls --- two in Karol Bagh and one opposite Lok Nayak hospital. There were two toilets for 50 persons and no bathrooms. Some had three. Besides, there were no charging points or tables or chairs with the beds.

When asked about these problems a government spokesperson said facilities in banquet halls and hotels are still being readied and that the issues highlighted will be addressed.