Row over reserving beds in Delhi hospitals for residents
DENYING TREATMENT TO PEOPLE OUTSIDE CITY UNETHICAL, SAYS CENTRAL AUTHORITY
INDIAN federal authorities on Monday (8) struck down an order by the Delhi city government to reserve hospital beds for residents, as the country reported a record number of coronavirus infections in a single day.
The chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, had said the city would soon run out of beds if Covid-19 patients kept coming from across India to its hospitals, drawing criticism that he was being unethical.
Delhi and Mumbai are hotspots for coronavirus infections in India, which reached 256,611 nationwide on Monday, the health ministry said. Deaths from Covid-19 stood at 7,135.
Delhi lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, who represents the central government, said denying treatment simply because someone was not a resident of the capital would be legally impermissible.
“All government and private hospitals and nursing homes have to extend all Covid-19 treatment facilities without any discrimination against residents or non-residents,” he said in an order.
Authorities have faced several complaints by relatives of people who have died before a hospital would accept them. Authorities say up to 15,000 extra beds could be needed by the end of the month. Delhi has also stopped hotels from reopening as it might want to convert them into temporary hospitals if there is a big jump in cases. Health experts say India’s peak could still be weeks away, if not months.
The row came as the government threw open shopping malls and restaurants in a bid to get the economy back up after a lockdown imposed in March that left millions without work.
Worshippers wore masks, stood six feet (2 metres) part and went through thermal scanners at Hindu temples in the capital city and elsewhere in the country as they re-opened. Access was strictly controlled. “We are allowing only a small number of devotees inside the temple at one time. We have drawn circles where they need to stand to ensure proper distancing of at least 6 feet,” said Harsh Vyas of an ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) temple in Ahmedabad.
Many temples set up sanitisation tunnels at entrances and barred worshippers from bringing offerings. “People are having their temperature tested twice before they get in,” said Ravindra Goel, a trustee of the Jhandewalan temple, one of the oldest in Delhi.
The public response to being able to shop and pray was tentative. There was only a trickle of people at most places of worship.
Businessman Mohit Budhiraja, wearing a mask and carrying sanitiser, went to his local temple in eastern Delhi for the first time since the lockdown.
“It felt like something was missing when I couldn’t come to the temple for all these weeks,” he said. “I hope things improve, but now I will come every day.”
The 400-year-old Jama Masjid mosque, one of the biggest in India, planned only three prayers a day instead of the usual five for Muslims. Worshippers also had to bring their own prayer mats.
Malls also imposed tight checks at entrances and social distancing in stores. Owners acknowledged they would have to wait to see normal business levels return. “This will last for at least two months, we will just have to rough it out,” said Mahendra Singh, owner of a clothes franchise in a mall.
Delhi accounts for more than 27,600 cases and 761 deaths – although media reports say the real figures are much higher.
Chief minister Kejriwal went into self-isolation at home after a bout of fever and throat pain, his party said. A coronavirus test was scheduled for Tuesday (9). “He has been a corona warrior, he has been at the frontline of this fight, we hope he recovers soon,” said Raghav Chadha, a party legislator.
Mumbai accounts for around a fifth of India’s cases and hospitals have been overrun. (Agencies)