With the third case of coronavirus detected in Delhi, authorities on Friday intensified efforts to augment facilities in the national capital by adding more isolation wards for COVID-19 patients and directed schools in the city to suspend morning assembly.
A health official of the Delhi government said 11 people, including seven family members of the man who tested positive for coronavirus after his visit to Thailand, have been quarantined at their residence.
The Delhi health department has also come up with a containment plan that includes preparing a buffer zone of five kilometres by the Delhi Geospatial Delhi Ltd around the cases reported so far, a bulletin said.
A surveillance of 50 households has been done in the vicinity of the residence of the fresh case to check if there has been any infection, it added.
The 25-year-old man, who also travelled to Malaysia, has tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the national capital to three.
"The family of the patient comprising his wife, parents, brother, sister-in-law and their two kids has been home quarantined. Their samples have been taken for testing," the official said.
More From This Section
The office of the patient, who has been shifted to the Safdarjung Hospital for treatment, is in Gurgaon but he operated from his residence.
A Paytm employee who tested positive for coronavirus is also a resident of west Delhi.
So far, 31 people have tested positive for coronavirus in India, according to the Union Health Ministry.
Augmenting the health facilities, Southwest Delhi District Magistrate Rahul Singh issued an order, asking all government and private hospitals to create such facility for COVID-19 patients.
"As you are aware that there is an emergency situation of COVID-19 in Delhi. Therefore, all government and private hospitals need to create the facility of isolation beds for COVID-19 patients, that is 10 per cent of the total bed capacity of all government and private hospitals under SWD," the order stated.
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) said it was also preparing to have separate wards Kasturba, Rajan Babu, Maharishi Valmiki and Smt Giridhar Lal hospitals of the North Delhi civic body.
It has already set up a separate ward with 14 beds for coronavirus patients at the Bara Hindurao hospital run by it.
Officials said meetings are being held with resident welfare associations (RWAs) for awareness and prevention of coronavirus.
Adequate number of masks are available in all the hospitals, the north municipal corporation said.
The zonal health officers have been directed to run awareness programmes on how to prevent spread of the virus. Hoardings and banners have also been displayed at vantage points under NDMC areas, it added.
The chairman of Medical Assistance and Public Health Committee of NDMC, Vineet Vohra, reviewed preparations for prevention of the virus in a meeting with health officers of the civic body on Friday.
The Delhi government has also directed schools in the national capital to suspend morning assembly as a precautionary measure for coronavirus.
The Directorate of Education (DoE) has also advised schools to withhold biometric attendance for staff till further orders.
"Do not hold school assembly. Also withhold biometric attendance for staff till further orders," the DoE has said in a letter to principals of all government and private schools.
On Thursday, the Delhi government had directed closure of all primary schools till March 31.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said anganwadis and government child-care centres have also been closed in view of the coronavirus scare.