Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal, on the eve of a crucial meeting to reassess the capital’s strategy to tackle coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) with representatives from the Delhi government, on Monday overturned two significant orders issued by it in the face of surging coronavirus cases in the city.
The meeting of the DDMA headed by the L-G scheduled for Tuesday was to have Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in attendance; however Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will be filling in for the Chief Minister who will undergo a COVID-19 test after complaining of fever and irritation in his throat.
1,007 new cases
As many as 1,007 new coronavirus cases were reported from the capital on Monday along with 17 deaths. The total number of cases in Delhi touched 29,943, with 11,357 recoveries, 874 deaths and 17,712 active cases as of June 8.
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Mr. Baijal, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), overruled the Delhi government’s decision to restrict treatment and admission at both private and state-run city hospitals to citizens bearing documented proof of residence in Delhi.
In another order, the L-G directed that ICMR guidelines regarding the testing of contacts of COVID-19 patients be followed “without any deviation,” effectively overruling recently revised guidelines in this regard by the Delhi government.
Clause 5 of the ICMR’s May 18 testing strategy directed the testing of asymptomatic direct and high risk contacts of confirmed coronavirus individuals. The Delhi government revised this by removing “asymptomatic” from the clause.
“...the Honourable Supreme Court has invariably held in several successive judgments that ‘Right to Health’ is an integral part of ‘Right to Life’ under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the L-G observed in the order.
He then stated that both government-run and private medical facilities in the capital had to extend medical facilities to all COVID-19 patients “without discrimination” and ensure that treatment was not denied to any patient “on the ground of not being a resident of NCT of Delhi.”
‘Huge problem’
Mr. Kejriwal, in a tweet, said the L-G’s order had created “a huge problem and challenge for the people of Delhi.”
“Providing treatment for people coming from all over the country during the Corona epidemic is a big challenge. May God bless us to serve the people of the whole country. We will try to provide treatment to all (Sic.)” he stated.
“BJP-run state governments are busy with PPE kit scams and ventilator scams. Delhi government is trying to manage this disaster thoughtfully and honestly. BJP can’t accept this and that is why they are doing this cheap politics by putting pressure on the LG,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said in a tweet.
Later in a video, Mr. Sisodia alleged: “In Gujarat you are doing ventilator scam, in Ghaziabad people are dying in ambulance, in Arunachal Pradesh for PPE scam your party leader got arrested … When Delhi government is working well, BJP is doing such petty politics and by putting pressure on LG, cancelling Delhi government’s orders, BJP’s leaders should be ashamed,” he alleged.
“If tomorrow, due to your decisions all beds gets filled, who will be responsible if a death happens? Now all the beds will get filled in four days, what will happen after that? Will BJP take responsibility that no one death will happen in Delhi? What BJP has done is wrong. And I want to say again, take back this decision,” he said.
