In Delhi, four more test positive for COVID-19, healthcare workers to be tested

According to an order by the health department, healthcare workers in facilities directly involved in drawing samples from patients at designated hospitals will also be tested.

“Healthcare workers are at the forefront and need to be tested regularly so that the infection is contained,” said a senior health official. On Wednesday, the 47-year-old wife and 17-year-old daughter of the Mohalla Clinic doctor tested positive for COVID-19. Around 1,000 patients who were seen by the doctor between March 12 and March 18 are also being traced.

Apart from healthcare workers, the government will also begin testing all patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) who are admitted to government hospitals.
Those working in hospitals under the central government such as AIIMS, Safdarjung, RML, Lady Hardinge Medical College, and Army Hospital Research & Referral have been requested to contact the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for collecting samples and getting them tested at their facilities.

On Wednesday, patients and healthcare workers who visited the Mohalla Clinic in Mohanpuri area of Maujpur between March 12 and 18 were directed to home quarantine for 15 days. The doctor was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital from GTB Monday night after he complained of breathlessness.
Several private hospitals in Delhi have been authorised to test and admit COVID-19 patients in Delhi. Max Healthcare will begin admissions of COVID-19 patients from Friday in specially designated isolation wards at its hospitals — East block of Max Super Speciality Hospital in Saket and Max Super Speciality Hospital in Patparganj. “The units are well-equipped with isolation beds, adequate supply of personal protective gear, ventilators, and trained staff to support any complex positive cases. Max Labs will begin testing for COVID-19 for samples collected from four units across Delhi-NCR. The testing samples will be collected at selective Max Hospitals — Saket, Gurgaon and Patparganj. We will keep adding bed/wards in case there is a surge in COVID-19 patients,” read a statement by Max Healthcare.

BLK Super Specialty Hospital will begin admissions from Friday. Apollo too will begin its testing and treatment facility Friday.

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