Delhi govt seeks police deployment in hospitals, quarantine centres as Markaz COVID-19 patients create law and order problem

Amid the rising coronavirus COVID-19 positive cases, the Delhi government on Thursday sought the deployment of adequate police force at hospitals and quarantine centres in the national capital where patients, particularly those transferred from Nizamuddin Markaz, are creating a law and order problem. In a letter to Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava, the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Delhi govt statted that the commotion in the hospitals is becoming very difficult for the hospital staff to handle.

The letter read, "It is to bring to your notice that in a massive exercise held from 30/3/2020 to 1/4/2020, around 2346 people congregated inside Alami Markaz Banglewali Masjid, Nizamuddin, Delhi, were screened for COVID and around 536 symptomatic persons were shifted to designated COVID Hospitals and around 1810 asymptomatic persons were housed in various institutional quarantine facilities across Delhi."

"In a meeting chaired by Minister of Health &FW, Medical Superintendents of the designated Hospitals for COVID-19 patients reported that the patients, particularly those transferred from Markaz, are creating a law and order problem and commotion in the hospitals which is becoming very difficult for the hospital staff to handle," read the letter.

It also added that on April 1, the RGSSH hospital reported one of the inmates admitted from the Markaz attempted suicide but was timely rescued by the hospital staff. In another incident, two inmates quarantined in Narela DDA quarantine facility escaped and were later tracked
down in Patparganj.

"It may be seen that it is very crucial to ensure that the COVID affected persons remain in isolation/ quarantine for a prescribed period as per laid down protocol in order to avoid further transmission of the infection. In view of this, I am directed to request you to deploy adequate police force in all the quarantine facilities and hospitals," further read the letter.

The hospitals and quarantine centres where persons from Markaz Masjid have been shifted are--

A. Hospitals
1. Loknayak Hospital, New Delhi
2. Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, Tahirpur
3. Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Dilshad Garden
4. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Hari Nagar
5. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Isolation Facility, Jhajjar, Haryana

B. Quarantine Centres
1. DDA Flats, Narela
2. Dusib Flats, Sultanpuri
3. Dusib Flats, Bakkarw Ala
4. Dusib Flats, Sec- 16, Dwarka
5. Railway Colony, Tughlakabad
6. Govt Boys Sr. Sec. School, Badarpur
7. Hotel Pride Plaza, Delhi Aerocity