Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal announces rollback of compulsory 5-day institutional quarantine.
According to a statement made by him on twitter, “regarding institutional isolation, only those COVID Positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment and do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation.”
Prior to this earlier today, a petition was filed in Delhi High Court seeking directions from the Court to quash the order issued on June 19, by Delhi Disaster Management Authority headed by Lieutenant Governor, which made mandatory for COVID-19 positive cases to undergo 5 days institutional quarantine.
The plea said, “The office of the Lt. Governor of Delhi and Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has issued an office order dated 19th June 2020 directing discontinuation of services outsourced services of M/s Portea which was making telephonic contact with the Home quarantine individuals with immediate effect.”
According to the plea which was filed, “Additionally, the said office order has also made physical verification of each case under home isolation mandatory to be carried out by surveillance team officers under supervision of District Magistrate. Additionally, the said office order has made it mandatory for COVID positive cases to undergo 5 days institutional quarantine.Such harsh directions forcing patients to undergo 5 days institutional quarantine, specially when the government is unable to provide adequate number of beds and nurses to patients who are in dire need of hospitalization. In fact, the Delhi Government has already issued press releases to the effect that the entire manpower of Delhi government is already stretched, and they will have to make large quarantine centres for housing thousands of asymptomatic patients. As per news reports, over 8400 COVID patients in Delhi are under home isolation at present.”
-India Legal Bureau