Arvind Kejriwal Announces 5T Plan Including Testing, Tracing, Treatment, Teamwork And Tracking for Fighting Coronavirus in Delhi
Kejriwal, while unveiling the plan, said his government in Delhi would attempt to replicate the mass testing as conducted by South Korea from February-April. The rapid tests allowed Seoul, despite being hit as early as January by the virus, contain the total number of cases to around 10,000, along with less than 200 fatalities.
New Delhi, April 7: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday listed a "5T strategy" to combat and contain the spread of coronavirus in the national capital. The plan lays emphasis on the first T - testing - and goes on to highlight the importance of tracing, treatment, teamwork and tracking of suspected COVID-19 infected persons. COVID-19 Live Tracker: Map The Spread of Coronavirus in All Parts of India.
Kejriwal, while unveiling the plan, said his government in Delhi would attempt to replicate the mass testing as conducted by South Korea from February-April. The rapid tests allowed Seoul, despite being hit as early as January by the virus, contain the total number of cases to around 10,000, along with less than 200 fatalities.
"The first T is testing. If you don't test, you won't be able to find out which houses have been affected. It'll go on spreading. South Korea identified every single individual through large scale testings. We are now going to do large scale testings like South Korea," Kejriwal said in his press briefing. Coronavirus Cases in India Rise to 4,421 With 354 New Patients in Past 24 Hours, Death Toll 114.
"We have ordered kits for the testing of 50,000 people. The kits have started arriving. We have also placed orders for the rapid test of 1,00,000 people. The deliveries of kits will begin by Friday. Random tests will be done at hotspots. Detailed tests will also be done," he further announced.
"The second T is tracing. It is being done well in Delhi. We have also started taking the help of Police. We have given them the phone numbers of 27,702 people to find out if the people, under self-quarantine, are indeed staying at homes," Kejriwal added.
"Today we are going to give 2000 phone numbers of people who were brought out of Markaz to find out if they roamed in the area around Markaz. The areas they went out to, will be sealed and monitored," he told the reporters.
The third T, said Kejriwal, is treatment to minimise the number of fatalities. The Lok Narayan Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital has been converted into a dedicated coronavirus facility, with 1,500 beds, the Chief Minister pointed out. The GB Pant Hospital with 500 beds and the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital with 450 beds would also be only treating the COVID-19 patients, he added.
One block of Max Saket, along with 50 beds in Apollo Hospital along with a few number of beds at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital have been allotted only for the coronavirus patients, Kejriwal added.
On "teamwork", Kejriwal said all state governments will have to work in close tandem, and would need to implement the best strategies adopted by each other. The last step of his plan is "tracking and monitoring", which the Delhi CM said is his responsibility to ensure all plans and strategies made are executed.
Delhi is the third-worst affected region in India due to the coronavirus outbreak. After Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, the highest number of COVID-19 positive cases - 549 - have been confirmed in the national capital. Nationwide, the tally of infections climbed to 4,421 today, whereas, the death count reached 114.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 07, 2020 01:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).