Healthcare workers across the city are emerging as the most vulnerable section. So far, close to 250 doctors, nurses and other hospital staff have tested positive.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi crossed 3,000 Monday, with 190 fresh cases being reported. It was also the second consecutive day with no deaths in the capital.
While the total cases in the city is 3,108, as many as 54 people have lost their lives. None of the 1,060 people admitted in hospitals or COVID-19 care centres recovered on Monday.
Healthcare workers across the city are emerging as the most vulnerable section. So far, close to 250 doctors, nurses and other hospital staff have tested positive.
At Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital, 15 more healthcare workers tested positive on Monday, taking the total to 65. Several others have been quarantined.
District Magistrate (North) Deepak Shinde said: “The hospital was sealed on Sunday and is regularly being sanitised. Contact tracing of all staff members is going on, and we are also looking at services at the hospital’s critical-care unit as well.”
The hospital has also tested some critically ill patients and their reports are awaited. Sources said that patients who test negative will be shifted to other hospitals for further treatment.
At Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, five more medical staff tested positive for the disease taking total cases in the medical facility to 70. Among those quarantined include the medical director, seven chief medical officers (CMO) and other resident doctors of the hospital. As per the list prepared by the administration, of the 70 people, 42 are doctors.
The Indian Express had reported on Monday that 33 healthcare workers at Max Hospital, Patparganj, tested positive for COVID-19. The hospital administration released a statement saying they have tested 581 healthcare workers at the hospital over two weeks. “Of the 33 healthcare workers, 32 are admitted at Max Hospital, Saket, while one has been discharged.”
The organisation said that it has instituted mandatory COVID-19 testing for all its 24,000-plus employees and patients admitted across their hospitals. Across Max hospitals in Delhi and Mumbai, 200 COVID-19 patients are admitted.
Over the past two weeks, a large number of people testing positive are those at the forefront of relief work, be it healthcare workers or those involved in distribution of food or in administrative outreach. A staffer working in direct contact with the district magistrate of the Southwest district also tested positive Monday. The DM has also been placed under home quarantine.