Days after passing a COVID-19 order which said individuals who are positive for coronavirus will be first referred to COVID Care Centres for assessment and then, be allowed to observe home quarantine if deemed fit, CM Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, on Wednesday, 24 June, sought to scrap the rule.
“I request Centre to withdraw new system requiring assessment of every COVID-19 patient at a government-run facility,” PTI quoted Kejriwal as saying.
"If admin forcibly takes patients to COVID Centres for clinical assessment, it's like a 15-day detention," added Kejriwal.
Highlighting that Delhi has two models currently, "Amit Shah model and Kejriwal model", Sisodia earlier on Wednesday argued that the new order dated 20 June – touted by the home minister and lieutenant governor – is burdening the healthcare system and the administration, creating chaos and confusion for the people of Delhi.
He also said that he has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to restore the old COVID-19 testing rules in Delhi as he didn’t receive any response from the LG on it.
"Delhi currently has two models to fight COVID-19, but this is not a fight between Amit Shah’s model and Arvind Kejriwal’s model and the governments should implement a system in which people don’t face problems," he added.
As per the old COVID-19 system in Delhi, when a person tests positive for COVID 19, they would either go for home isolation (for asymptomatic cases) or be hospitalised (when showing severe symptoms) or be kept under institutional quarantine, if they do not have the provision of self-isolation at home.
However, last week, the same was altered by AAP after the home minister and LG advised they follow new rules.
Here is the copy of the order passed by the government on 20 June :
“If adequate facility for home isolation exists, and person on clinical assessment is found to have no co-morbidities and doesn’t require hospitalisation, they would be offered to either continue to stay in COVID centre/paid isolation facility or can opt for home isolation,” had said the order.
According to APP, around 3,000-4,000 COVID positive cases are being recorded in Delhi everyday.
"The new system has burdened the entire ambulance system. Now, the administration has to arrange for buses to take people to quarantine centres. This has created a huge chaos in Delhi," Sisodia said in a digital press conference.
He has called this new order "Amit Shah model".
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