DELHIITES DIVIDED OVER COVID-19 SCREENING
Ruchika Garg
With Delhi being among the states with the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country, Delhi government has decided to screen every house in the Capital. The exercise involves checking people for signs of flu such as fever, sore throat, etc. and asking them about their travel history to map Covid-19. The move has received mixed response on social media. “Screening is the only way to deal with this; only then we’ll be able to quarantine those with even the slightest symptoms,” says
Dwarka resident Bhushan Gupta. Karol Bagh resident Aranya Bhanushali adds, “States or countries that maximised screening have been able to control pandemic better. We need to heighten the degree of screening.”
However, some doubt the consequences of such an exercise. “If, say, two lakh people are found positive and are asked to quarantine, who will help them fight the scare? I’m not against screening, but
I’m thinking about the aftermath,” says Ramesh Nagar resident Gaurav Gera. Najafgarh’s Kapil Sharma, too, feels that such a step may scare people into running away as they “wouldn’t want” to go to a hospital. “Most of us know there aren’t even basic facilities there… Being available to help is what’s needed instead of scaring them away in the name of screening,” he says.