Delhi Govt’s 5 point plan to combat COVID-19: Testing, Tracing, Treatment, Teamwork, Tracking & Monitoring

Delhi will aggressively test to identify, trace, quarantine and treat positive coronavirus cases.

Delhi Government has launched a five-point action plan to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the National Capital. The plan was shared by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal through a live television address on April 7, 2020. 

The Delhi CM announced a 5T strategy to make Delhi ready to fight back against Coronavirus. He said that the strategy has been formed after holding detailed discussions with several experts and doctors and learning from the experience of other nations in fighting against Coronavirus. 

Delhi’s 5Ts to combat the spread of novel coronavirus include- Testing, Tracing, Treatment, Teamwork and Tracking and Monitoring. 

Delhi’s 5Ts to tackle COVID-19: In Detail

1.Testing: The Delhi CM noted that it has been observed that the nations, which did not do adequate testing, they were unable to control the spread of COVID-19. On the other hand, South Korea is an ideal example of how a nation can control the spread of coronavirus by massively increasing the testing capacity and identifying each positive case. 

Similarly, Delhi will aggressively test to identify, trace, quarantine and treat positive coronavirus cases. The Delhi government has already ordered the testing kits for around 50,000 people. The government has also ordered around 1 lakh rapid tests, which will be used to test random samples in hotspot areas such as Nizamuddin and Dilshad Garden to see whether any community transmission has taken place or not. 

2.Tracing: The Delhi CM said that once a person is found positive, a team of experts will work to trace and identify all those who came in contact with the person in the last 14 days and all of them will be kept under self-quarantine. Delhi has been able to conduct tracing of contacts well till now. The Delhi Police has also been roped in to ensure that those in self-quarantine are staying put through cellphone triangulation. The police will also trace the whereabouts of the Markaz people who tested positive using their phone numbers and seal the places they visited. 

3.Treatment: The current total of coronavirus patients in Delhi stands at 525. The government has already prepared around 3000 isolation beds. The LNJP hospital, which has 1500 beds, has been declared as COVID-19 hospital. The hospital will only treat coronavirus patients for now. GB Pant hospital that has 500 beds has also been declared as COVID hospital. Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital that has 450 beds has also been declared as a complete COVID hospital. 

With this, the government has readied 2450 beds in government hospitals and 400 beds in private hospitals including E-block of Max hospital that has around 318 beds, 50 beds of Apollo hospital and 42 beds of Ganga Ram, which takes the total to 2950 beds. In case the number of COVID-19 patients go beyond 3000 in Delhi then, GTB hospital, which has around 1500 beds will be declared as COVID hospital. 

Delhi has made a very detailed plan for ramping up facilities to up to 30000 active patients by roping in around 8000 hospital beds, 12000 hotel rooms and 10,000 to be accommodated in banquet halls as and when the requirement comes. In such a scenario, old people and those with existing ailments will be kept in hospitals and others with mild symptoms will be housed in hotel rooms and banquet halls.

PPE Kits

The Delhi Government has also calculated the number of PPE kits that will be required in such a situation. Though the national capital was facing a shortage of PPE kits, the problem has been resolved now as the centre will be providing about 27000 PPE kits at the earliest. 

4.Teamwork: The Delhi CM stressed on the importance of teamwork to defeat Coronavirus. He urged all state governments to work together to come up with a solution and combat the crisis. He also spoke against the discrimination faced by doctors and nurses in the wake of this crisis and urged everyone to stay at home. 

5.Tracking and Monitoring: Delhi CM stated that he will be responsible for tracking and monitoring the entire implementation of the COVID-19 plan.