Delhi pvt hospitals asked to set up isolation units for positive UK passengers

New Delhi, Dec 31 : The Delhi government has directed four prominent private hospitals to establish isolation units for international passengers who have travelled from or transited through UK in the past four weeks and tested Covid positive, on payment basis with immediate effect.
These private hospitals are Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital in Saket, Batra Hospital and Research Centre in Tughlakabad Institutional Area, Fortis Super Speciality Hospital in Vasant Kunj and Sir Ganga Ram City Hospital.
“In order to create institutional isolation facility in the private sector for international passengers who have travelled from or transited through UK in the past four weeks, 25th November to 24th December and tested positive, authorities of following private hospitals are directed to establish separate (isolation) unit on payment basis with immediate effect,” Dr. R.N. Das, Medical Superintendent of Nursing Homes, stated in an order dated December 30.
As many as 38 positive patients, who have travelled to Delhi from international locations, are admitted in the Delhi government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital. Out of those, four have been infected with the new coronavirus strain. Of the total positive patients, 17 are those who have returned from the UK recently, while remaining are their contacts.
Besides, the Delhi government has quarantined around 200 people, who either returned from the UK within a month or are in contact with those travellers found positive. Over 14,000 passengers have arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport since November 25, and of them, around 4,000 have been found to have residences in Delhi.
Earlier on Thursday, the Central government said that five more cases of mutant UK virus have been detected in the country, taking the total tally of such cases to 25 so far. Notably, the newly identified strain of the virus found in UK’s population is up to 70 per cent more transmissible.