Issues of testing, tracing and treatment of COVID-19 patients and doubling the number of tests of those infected by the virus in the Capital were discussed at the all-party meeting convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah here on Monday.
Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said the BJP delegation asked Mr. Shah to reduce testing charges by 50% which, according to Mr. Gupta, the Home Minister assured to implement.
Apart from Mr. Gupta, the delegation also included BJP State organization general secretary Siddharthan and Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri.
“We have also demanded to reduce the fees of private hospitals regarding which Dr. Paul Committee has been formed, which will submit its report tomorrow. After this, the cost of COVID-19 treatment at private hospitals will be fixed,” Mr. Gupta said.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh said data related to the Delhi government’s tackling of the situation was also submitted at the meeting.
Delhi statistics
“At 15,000 tests per million, the number of tests in Delhi are more than double the State conducting the second highest number of tests in the country which is Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Singh said.
“We have been told about a test that will give results in 15 minutes. It costs ₹450 and will be used soon for mass testing. Senior IAS officers are being appointed to coordinate between the State government and the Centre”, Mr. Singh said.
“Regarding the way forward, increasing 1,900 beds at Delhi government hospitals, 2,000 beds at Central government hospitals, 4,000 beds at hotels, 1,178 beds at private hospitals...we also discussed door-to-door marking in containment zones,” he also said.
Mr. Gupta said that every house in containment zones will be mapped for tracing.
The Deputy Commissioner of the Delhi government’s Revenue Department has been appointed the nodal officer to monitor mappin.
Officers, he said, have also been appointed to monitor the app issued by the Delhi government so it provides correct information with updates about the availability of beds in hospitals.
“At the all-party meeting, all the political parties of Delhi kept their political agenda aside and expressed their opinion to save Delhi from the pandemic... this is not a time of accusation, we have to fight together against the virus to be able to win,” Mr. Gupta said.
