COVID-19: Kejriwal directs hospitals to prepare in advance

(IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday convened a meeting with all medical superintendents of Delhi government hospitals to prepare for the coronavirus crisis in the city and directed them to prepare in advance to handle positive cases.

New Delhi, March 20 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday convened a meeting with all medical superintendents of Delhi government hospitals to prepare for the coronavirus crisis in the city and directed them to prepare in advance to handle positive cases.

Kejriwal directed the medical superintendents to ensure adequate availability of all resources and medical staff in the hospitals.

He said that the medical superintendents have been empowered to appoint additional employees on contract for the next three months.

He also asked to immediately procure all necessary supplies, such as medicines and ventilators.

"All paperwork regarding the same will be completed immediately to ensure that there is no delay in the procurement of the supplies," Kejriwal said.

He also instructed Health Minister Satyender Jain to ensure no supplier overstocks essential items like medicines, masks, and other essential items, and those suppliers who indulge in overstocking will be raided if required.

"The current situation is witnessing a rise in coronavirus cases in the city. We are in a critical phase right now, which can lead to the expansion of the virus. We should also ensure whether we have adequate medical facilities and equipment to deal with the crisis in hospitals. We have to ensure there are a sufficient number of isolation beds and wards available."

He said there has been no community transmission of the virus until now, but we should be prepared to handle the crisis if it happens.

"The objective of this meeting is to realize the criticality of the promptness of all the medical officials and staff to handle the situation," he added.

Directing the medical superintendents to ensure that there is no shortage of medical supplies, Kejriwal said, "Please ensure that all the equipments are operational. If you observe that any of the machines in your hospitals are not working, please get to address that issue immediately. Delhi government officials and cabinet will make sure that we provide immediate approvals for the same. You can send the files to our offices and we will sign them at once, and you may contact our offices directly in case of any issues."

He also directed the hospitals to ensure that there should be no escapes from their premises.

"We will deploy more security and police personnel if needed. We will speak to the police authorities and ask them to deploy more police personnel in front of all our hospitals."

Kejriwal assured that the Delhi government will talk to the central government to ensure mass procurement of testing kits to the Delhi government hospitals.

Health Minister Jain said that the authorization to recruit freely under all categories will be given to all the hospitals till June 30, under the Delhi Epidemic Act 1987.

Later in the day, Jain called on all private hospital administrative heads and instructed them for proper arrangements for COVID-19 patients in their hospitals.

( With inputs from IANS )