COVID: Delhi Govt reserves 100 rooms at Ashok Hotel for Delhi HC judges & judicial staff

The Delhi Government on Monday ordered the Ashok Hotel in Chanakyapuri to reserve 100 rooms as a COVID-19 facility for Judges, Judicial Officers of Delhi High Court and their families. The patients at Ashok Hotel will be managed by Primus Hospital. Notification to that effect was issued by Geeta Grover, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Chanakyapuri. This development comes after the Delhi High Court directed the Delhi government to make arrangements for the COVID-19 health care facility for the judges and other officials of the High Court and their families.

Following were the directions issued in the order:

• The Primus Hospital shall run the CHC facility at Ashoka Hotel.
• Biomedical waste disposal will be the responsibility of the Hospital.
• The staff of the hotel shall be provided all protective gear and given basic adequate training.
• Ambulance for the transfer facility will be provided by the Primus Hospital.
• For any shortage of hotel staff, the same will be provided by the Hospital.
• All the services including rooms, housekeeping, disinfection & food for the patients etc. shall be provided by the hotel.
• The charges shall be collected by the hospital and the hospital shall make the payment to the hotel.
• The Primus Hospital may accommodate their doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff at their own expenses after deciding the rates mutually.
• Dinesh Kumar Meena, Executive Magistrate, New Delhi District is directed to coordinate with the Primus Hospital and the Hotel authorities for setting up the facility.

The Delhi HC on Monday requested the Delhi government to expand sample collection infrastructure and set up more testing centres across the national capital. This assumes significance as the national capital has reported a dip in the testing facilities while people have been complaining of the delay in test results.

Delhi is currently facing an acute shortage of oxygen beds for serious COVID-19 patients and has almost run out of ICU facilities amid soaring infections. It recorded 350 COVID-19 deaths and 22,933 cases with a positivity rate of 30.21 per cent on Sunday.

Under the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs, a COVID care centre with 500 oxygen-supported beds run by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) began functioning in Delhi from Monday with the admission of at least 110 patients. The facility named Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel COVID Care Centre has been opened in view of Delhi registering a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, shortage of oxygen beds and its healthcare system creaking under the pressure. The facility is located at the Radha Soami Beas campus in the Chhattarpur area of south Delhi. The border guarding force has been designated by the Union Home Ministry as the nodal agency to run it. The ITBP has said that treatment at this centre will be free of cost.