New Delhi: The Delhi government has decided to conduct large-scale testing for coronavirus so that infected people are identified and isolated at the earliest, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said here on Monday, asserting that this will ensure containment of the disease in the national capital. The number of coronavirus cases rose by 30 to 532 on Monday in Delhi. So far, Delhi has reported seven fatalities. Addressing an online briefing, the chief minister said that in the last few days, cases of coronavirus have suddenly spiked in Delhi and one of the reasons behind it is the Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin. Kejriwal said of 523 cases, 330 are from the Tablighi Jamaat''s Nizamuddin centre, which has emerged as a major hotspot for the infection not only in Delhi but in the country.
Scaling up testing will ensure containment of the deadly disease in the national capital, he said. "Our testing capacity around March 25 was 100-125 people per day, which increased to 500 people per day after April 1. We are now reaching a capacity of around 1,000 tests per day," he said. The Centre had allotted 27,000 PPE kits for Delhi, Kejriwal said. The alleged lack of personal protection equipment for healthcare workers also led to exchange of words on Twitter between Kejriwal and BJP parliamentarian Gautam Gambhir. The chief minister said money is not a problem but the availability of protective equipment for healthcare personnel is, after Gambhir accused the Delhi government of not accepting Rs 50 lakh from his MPLADS fund to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
In a tweet, Gambhir, who is a member of Lok Sabha from East Delhi, said the "massive egos" of Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia did not allow them to take Rs 50 lakh from his Local Area Development fund. "CM @ArvindKejriwal & his Dy say funds are needed. Though their massive egos didn''t allow them to take50 L from my LAD fund earlier, I pledge 50 L more so that innocents don''t suffer! 1 CR would at least solve urgent need for masks &PPE kits for days Hope they prioritize Delhi," Gambhir tweeted. Responding to it, Kejriwal said, "Gautam ji, thank u for ur offer. The problem is not of money but availability of PPE kits. We wud be grateful if u cud help us get them from somewhere immediately, Del govt will buy them. Thank u." Gambhir replied to the chief minister in a tweet saying he has procured 1,000 PPE kits and asked where could they be delivered.
He also told Kejriwal that this is no time to talk but act. Meanwhile, an NABL-accredited diagnostic laboratory in the city has come up with an innovative step for testing suspected infected persons without having them to queue up at hospitals and coming in contact with anyone, including the paramedical staff collecting the sample. Named "drive through test", the procedure for ICMR-conformed test has been designed by Dr Dangs Lab, a West Delhi-based diagnostic lab. It envisages the suspected patients reaching the laboratory''s parking lot in his vehicle with a trained paramedic waiting to collect his sample with the patient sitting in his car and driving back home in just over 10 minutes. The Delhi government also said no fresh movement of migrant workers have been reported in the national capital during the ongoing lockdown.
According to a statement, migrant workers, who were initially going to their home state due to various reasons, have been focused as a target group for which special facilities have been provided. After the lockdown was announced, thousands of migrant workers left the Delhi-NCR region on foot, and later in UP Road Transport Corporation buses for their native places citing lack of work. The government has set up 111 shelter homes specifically for migrant worker rendered homeless due to lockdown. "Till Sunday, 4,788 migrants have been housed in these shelters homes. The relief camps have a capacity to accommodate 40,000 persons," the statement stated. Due to pro-active steps taken by Delhi government no fresh movement of migrant labourers has been reported in Delhi, it stated.
Amidst massive efforts to track down many Tablighi Jamaat members who continue to hide in different parts of the national capital, Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava also met Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla. The search for the Tablighi Jamaat members was launched after over 2,300 activists, including 250 foreigners, were found to be living at its headquarters located at Delhi''s Nizamuddin last week despite the 21-day lockdown imposed to check the spread of coronavirus. About 9,000 people had participated in a congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat last month. The Delhi Police commissioner briefed the home secretary on the progress of the ongoing probe against the Tablighi Jamaat, a home ministry official said. The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police has already registered a case against the organisation while most of its top leaders, including chief Maulana Saad Kandhlawi, are hiding from police.
The Delhi Police also said over 190 cases were registered and 3,728 people detained for violating government orders during the lockdown. As many as 247 FIRs have been lodged till now at different police stations across the city against persons found violating home quarantine rules, according to the police. While 81 FIRs were registered after physical verification, 160 FIRs were lodged after technical surveillance and six other cases were filed on the complaints of neighbours, an official said.
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