At least 150 of about 480 mohalla clinics in the city were shut on Tuesday primarily because the staff was not able to reach the government-run facilities, said officials.

Notably, the Chief Minister on March 26 had said: “There is a rumour going on that all the mohalla clinics in Delhi will be closed. This is completely wrong information. We will ensure that every mohalla clinic will be fully functional during this tough time.” Thousands of people, mainly from lower-middle income groups, rely on the clinics for medical care every day. “On Tuesday, about 300 mohalla clinics were open. On Monday, the number was less,” a Delhi government official told The Hindu.

In the last week of March, the Delhi government had directed heads of all hospitals and institutions under the Department of Health and Family Welfare to hire private vehicles for officials to reach their place of duty as many were “unable to do so due to the lockdown”.

But this facility is not available for mohalla clinic staff as they are not permanent employees, said officials. “Initially the staff were finding it difficult to reach the clinics as they did not have ID cards. Now, they have been issued special ID cards so that they can reach the clinics,” the official said. The staff needs to be dependent on DTC buses or their own vehicles to reach the clinic “but not everyone is able to do so”, the official added.

Clinics see footfall

The clinics, which were open, saw a footfall of 100-150 on an average. But more mohalla clinics are open compared to the last week of March, when about 250 clinics were shut.