58 Jagjivan Ram Hospital staffers test Covid-19 positive
New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) As many as 58 employees, including doctors and nurses, of the Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital, here, have tested coronavirus positive. Of them, 70 per cent were asymptomatic.
Among the staffers, IANS contacted, a doctor and a nurse confirmed that their family members had tested coronavirus positive. The final tally is yet to be announced.
“The process of testing staffers and their close contacts, including family members, is on. So far, over 58 staff members and some of their relatives have tested positive. Around 70 per cent of them were asymptomatic,” a hospital official told IANS.
The 100-bed hospital has about 500 employees, including doctors, para-medics, nurses, sanitation workers, security and non-medical personnel.
Till Saturday, 40 employees had tested positive. On Sunday, reports of 114 employees and their relatives came in. Of them, 20 were found Covid-19 positive. Reports of about 70 staffers are yet to come.
There is a flu corner in the hospital and the administration is filtering patients with symptoms. But a large number of people could be asymptomatic.
“It’s difficult to say the source of infection. We were doing thermal screening and and asking in-coming patients about travel history or symptoms. But if someone is asymptomatic, nothing we can do,” said the doctor.
The doctor said the hospital, located in Jahangirpuri, was surrounded by several hotspots. “There are containment zones in almost all blocks of Jahangirpuri. It can’t be ignored. Many employees live nearby. There is no accommodation for the medical professionals of the non-Covid hospitals. This also puts the lives of their family members in danger,” the doctor said.
In the North district, seven containment zones have been marked. Of these, six are in densely populated Jahangirpuri — B, C, H, G, K Blocks and Sanjay Enclave.
The hospital official said enough PPE kits, masks and gloves had been provided to the medical professionals.
“People are coming with so many issues to the hospital. Some could be carrying the infection. We are following all government directions. The doctors can’t say no to the patients,” said an official.
While doctors were taking all precautions, it was often difficult for staffers to judge the patient’s seriousness, the official added.
The hospital is not closed as of now, but with employees being quarantined, it has been demanded that fresh staff be brought from other hospitals to run the services.
Around 150 hospital employees from across the city have tested coronavirus positive with the majority being asymptomatic. Delhi has reported around 2,650 Covid-19 cases and 54 deaths.
–IANS
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