he Delhi government will now start enlisting and screening for coronavirus daily-wagers, domestic help, auto drivers and food suppliers under its revised ”COVID Response Plan”, according to an official order.

It will also enlist and screen people in high-risk groups — those aged above 60 or having comorbid conditions — through house-to-house surveys in containment zones, buffer zones and areas with isolated cases.

Special surveillance groups (SSGs), including rickshaw pullers, auto drivers, taxi drivers, domestic helps, plumbers, electricians, carpenters etc, and those who supply essentials, parcels and posts will be enlisted with the help of municipal corporations, transport department, resident welfare associations and police, the Directorate General of Health Services said in the order.

The district administration should strive to screen the SSGs. Major points of conglomerations of SSGs in the districts should be compulsorily covered, it said.

“If a positive case is found in SSGs, the patient should be taken care of as per the COVID protocol. His/her workplace and home should be immediately disinfected followed by enhanced surveillance and aggressive contact tracing,” the order read. The administration in all districts has also been asked to enlist and screen those aged above 60 or have comorbid conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and cancer.

The district administration has been asked to regularly visit or contact all the enlisted cases to assess their medical condition and maintain proper medical records.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday inaugurated a 500-bed COVID care center at the Commonwealth Games village here. Doctors For You, a not-for-profit organization, supported the Delhi government in setting up the facility which is attached to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital. "Inaugurated 500 bedded CWG Village COVID Care Center with CM Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia...My appreciation for DDMA & 'Doctors For You' (Volunteer group of Doctors NGO) for establishing this centre in a record time of 6 days," Baijal tweeted. "It's an excellent example of government-civil society collaboration. I am confident it will strengthen Delhi's fight against Covid-19," he said in another tweet. On Sunday, the LG had inaugurated 10,000-bed Sardar Patel COVID care centre, one of the "largest" such facilities in the world, at the Radha Soami Satsang Beas here. The centre is 1,700-feet long, 700-feet wide -- roughly the size of 20 football fields -- and has 200 enclosures with 50 beds each.

A total of 2033 new confirmed cases of Coronavirus were reported in Delhi during the last twenty-four hours taking the total number of cases to 1,04864.

The Delhi Government has confirmed that 78199 people affected with Coronavirus have been cured so far. In the last 24 hours, 3982 people recovered from COVID-19 infection while 48 deaths were reported in the National Capital taking the toll to 3213. Now, there are 23452 active cases.

Source; PTI Input; CNBC