Delhi Cancer Institute’s OPD Shut as Staff Tests COVID-19 Positive

Image used for representation.

(Photo: iStock)

The Out-Patient Department at Delhi State Cancer Institute has been shut and patients are being temporarily shifted to a private hospital after several DSCI staffers tested positive for COVID-19, a senior official said on Tuesday, 7 April.

Two doctors and 16 paramedics have tested positive for coronavirus at DSCI.

The official said authorities are investigating how the staffers contracted the infection as the cancer institute was not admitting COVID-19 patients.

"We have closed the OPD facility as of now, and though the IPD facility is running, patients are slowly being shifted to a nearby facility, so that the entire premises can be sanitised," he said.

The process should take two days and patients would be brought back after that, he added.

On Monday, another official said 24 healthcare personnel of the hospital have been asked to remain in home quarantine.

Earlier on Tuesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said 523 coronavirus cases have been found in Delhi. Kejriwal said the government will effectively trace people who came in contact with COVID-19 patients to see if they too have contracted the virus.