Delhi LG Withdraws 5-Day Mandatory Institutional Quarantine Order After Opposition By Kejriwal Govt

Kejriwal said the ICMR has permitted home isolation for asymptomatic and mild symptom Covid-19 patients in the whole country, then why a separate rule was employed in case of Delhi.

As on Friday, Delhi had 53,116 coronavirus cases of which 27,512 were active. (File Photo/ Getty)

New Delhi: Soon after opposition from Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Saturday took back his order for a five-day institutional quarantine for Covid-19 patients in the national capital. "Only those Covid-19 positive patients who don't require hospitalisation on clinical assessment and don't have adequate facilities for home isolation will need to undergo institutional isolation," Baijal said.  The order had been opposed by the chief minister and his deputy Manish Sisodia at a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). "Regarding institutional isolation, only those COVID positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment & do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation," the LG said on Twitter after the meeting.

Regarding institutional isolation, only those COVID positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment & do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation.

— LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) June 20, 2020

In another tweet, he said the DDMA approved recommendations of high level expert committee for fixing subsidised rates for COVID-19 treatment in Delhi's private hospitals. Responding to the tweet, AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said: "There is an elected government in Delhi, the elected legislators understand the problem of the people. If the elected government is consulted while taking big decisions, it will not make anyone smaller". Earlier in the day, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia had said the Delhi government will oppose the LG order on home isolation. He said the order is against the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and will create "chaos" in Delhi. At the meeting, Kejriwal said the ICMR has permitted home isolation for asymptomatic and mild symptom Covid-19 patients in the whole country, then why a separate rule was employed in case of Delhi, according to sources. ALSO READ | Delhi Govt Caps Per Day Charges For Covid-19 Patients In Hotels; Check Details Here "Most corona patients are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms, how will arrangements be made for them. The coaches provided by the Railways for isolation are hot inside where patients cannot stay," PTI sources quoted Kejriwal saying in the meeting. On Friday, Baijal ordered a five-day institutional quarantine for all asymptomatic COVID-19 patients or those with mild symptoms. He also ordered that after the five-day institutional quarantine asymptomatic patients will be sent for home isolation. The move is likely to put further stress on the city's health infrastructure, which is already grappling with increased number of patients due to the coronavirus pandemic. As on Friday, Delhi had 53,116 coronavirus cases of which 27,512 were active. The number of those under home isolation stood at 10,490. Of the 10,961 beds, 5,078 were vacant.