The Center said the Delhi government was well aware that the confluence of winter, festival season and pollution would likely witness an increase in cases and this prior knowledge should have led to strict enforcement and the implementation of information measures. , education and communication (IEC). over time, but this was not done.
In its affidavit, filed with the higher court, the Ministry of the Interior (MHA) said that “although there were regular announcements about the achievements of the Delhi Government, including the prevention and control of dengue, there were no announcements about appropriate behavior of Covid. People, in general, were also not informed about this through regular dissemination measures ”.
It read: “Despite repeated exhortations in the wake of the increase in Covid-19 cases, the Delhi government did not take steps to improve testing capacity, particularly for RT-PCR, which remained static at around 20,000 RTPCR tests. for a long time”.
A bench of judges Ashok Bhushan, RS Reddy and MR Shah took the affidavit from the Center and noted that “things are going from bad to worse but no concrete action is being taken.
States will have to rise above politics. All states will have to rise to the occasion, ”the bank said as it published the matter for an additional hearing on December 1.
The Center said that despite issuing several elaborate and comprehensive guidelines for the containment and prevention of infection and to ensure proper treatment of Covid patients, the Delhi government saw its first wave of coronavirus infection in June. -July and the union government immediately had to take proactive and preventive measures to control a further spread of Covid-19.
The Center noted that to address the shortcomings, which lead to a massive increase in Covid infection and increasing pressure on the capacity of medical infrastructure in Delhi hospitals, the Union Interior Minister Amit Shah, he was forced to call another meeting on November 15 to review the situation in the national capital.
He said that even now, “after GNCTD pledged to increase ICU (fanless) beds by around 2,680, the Chief Minister, in his letter dated 19 November 2020 addressed to the Union Minister of the Interior, has expressed inability to upgrade ICU beds in Delhi hospitals (state government and private) by more than around 912, and has asked the central government to create the additional 1,700 ICU beds. ”
He said that the cabinet secretary, the union’s home secretary, and the health secretary held several meetings with all concerned officials from the Delhi government, municipal bodies, and others to review the status of Covid-19 management and It was emphasized that all measures must be taken to contain the situation in Delhi.
The Center noted that despite constant monitoring by the MHA of scrupulous compliance with the instructions by the Delhi government, several shortcomings were noted in the implementation of the program.
He said that from then on, a series of review meetings chaired by the Union health secretary were held from July 8 to November 13 and various issues were regularly emphasized to the Delhi government.
The affidavit highlighted shortcomings including converting more beds to oxygenated / ventilated beds, strict perimeter control of containment areas, and more testing, especially through the RT-PCR method, to ensure that Covid-positive individuals are detect early and that medical response can be given.
The Center said that several other issues that were raised in the review meetings include that Delhi should monitor ambulance requirements and other infrastructure so that no patient remains untreated and responds and in view of the proximity of the festival period, the season of marriages and winter weather conditions. GNCTD will act proactively and act conscientiously in accordance with the guidelines.
“In addition, the Cabinet Secretary also examined the Covid-19 situation in 08 states / UT, including the Delhi NCT, which constitutes 62% of active cases nationwide and 61% of total deaths, through from a video conference on November 11, “he said, adding that the strict implementation of the guidelines for Covid and the rigor of the containment measures were emphasized.
In detailing the deficiencies found by the Delhi government, the Center said effective preventive measures were not taken to contain the infection despite the recommendation of the high-powered committee headed by NITI Ayog member Dr. VK Paul, that He said Delhi should plan for an increase of around 15,000 cases per day and consequently provide about 6,500 ICU beds.
He said the Delhi government failed to take any timely action to increase ICU beds from the current level of around 3,500, causing sudden pressure on the medical and health infrastructure in Delhi.
The Center said that even patients who were in home isolation were not located properly and / or their contacts were not located effectively either.
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