Congress demands SoP after pizza delivery boy tests COVID-19 positive in Delhi

Congress on Friday demanded that a standard operating procedure for delivery boys should be prepared and notified and it should also apply to others exempted from lockdown after a pizza delivery boy in Delhi testing positive for coronavirus. Addressing a press conference through video-conferencing, Congress leader Ajay Maken said that 55 health care professionals have been infected in Delhi which is highest in the country and "Delhi has a huge scarcity of PPE".

He said 1,640 persons had tested positive and 135 were under investigations and asked if the metropolis had entered the third stage of COVID-19 transmission. He said private schools in Delhi should not charge a fee due to lockdown and the government should provide 75 per cent salaries of teachers. He also demanded Rs 7,500 per month for vulnerable sections.

Maken said a pizza delivery boy has been found positive for the virus and 89 persons have been quarantined. "Why is there not a regulation for all individuals who are exempted from lockdown? We suggest SOP for delivery boys should be prepared and should be notified as regulations so that they are binding on everyone," he said.

"The SOP should also include early testing of this vulnerable section," he said. 

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READ: Investigating how pizza delivery boy contracted coronavirus: South Delhi DM

Investigation Underway

South Delhi District Magistrate Brij Mohan Mishra on Thursday said that the administration is investigating how the pizza delivery boy contracted the coronavirus. Soon after a pizza delivery boy associated with a famous pizza chain was tested positive for the novel Coronavirus in Delhi's South district, families of 72 houses have been asked to observe self-quarantine, District Magistrate of South Delhi informed on Wednesday.

Speaking to ANI, Mishra said that the police have contacted people living in 72 houses and they have been asked to stay in-home quarantine. No symptoms have been seen in people related to him.

"In the last 15 days, we discovered houses he had delivered food. We contacted people living in 72 houses and they have been asked to stay in home-quarantine. No symptoms have been seen in people related to him. Testing of his roommate has been done and his reports are awaited. The rest of the people don't have any symptoms, they have been placed under institutional quarantine. Those in-home quarantines are also asymptomatic," Mishra told ANI.

"Unless a positive case comes, we feel that transmission has not taken place. The boy told us that he was continuously wearing a mask while delivering the food. We are also finding out how he got infected. We are getting the information about the places he visited for delivery. He was tested on the basis of the doctor's advice. Later, he tested positive," he added.

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(with inputs from ANI)