The Trauma Centre at RML will be turned to a dedicated isolation ward. Praveen Khanna
The national capital reported 59 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, taking the total number to 445. Of the new cases, 42 were evacuated from Markaz Nizamuddin, two are cases of local transmission, while 15 are under investigation.
Among those who tested positive is a 50-year-old man working as a contractual sanitation worker at the AIIMS Trauma Centre, who lives at the congested jhuggi jhopri camp near South Moti Bagh.
The entire area was cordoned off on Saturday after tests confirmed that the man had contracted COVID-19. He is admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. While his family was initially asked to isolate themselves, they were later shifted to a quarantine centre in South Delhi’s Chattarpur on Saturday evening.’
The pradhan of the JJ camp said, “We got to know about the case today after an ambulance came to our colony. We found out the man had gone to the hospital to get tested four days ago, after he ran a fever. Today, his elder son went to collect the report and was told that his father had tested positive. There are 12 members in his family.”
Close to 1,200 families live in the area, which is now under a strict lockdown. “His family members were also taken to hospital, but they returned as they were asymptomatic. We assured them help after they were advised to isolate at home. We are getting food at the government school nearby, so we told them they would get food inside their home,” said the pradhan.
A senior police officer said they have informed the department concerned and requested them to take necessary actions to contain the situation.
The total population of the JJ camp is around 5,000, and several people are now worried about their well-being. “We have asked everyone to be more cautious and alert their neighbours or the agency concerned if they notice any symptoms. The lockdown will be stricter in the area now, but perhaps that is needed,” said a resident.
The city has seen 15 people who work in hospitals, including doctors and nurses, test positive for the virus so far.
On Saturday, two more nurses — one each from the Delhi State Cancer Institute and Indraprastha Apollo Hospital — tested positive. Five COVID-19 positive patients were discharged from hospitals Saturday.