Authorities defer turning Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium into quarantine facility

The Delhi government has deferred using the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium as a quarantine facility as the authorities believe the spread of COVID-19 infection is under control in the national capital, official sources said on Friday.

On March 30, Southeast District Magistrate Harleen Kaur had issued an order asking the Sports Authority of India to hand over the stadium to the district administration immediately for setting up of a quarantine facility.

Sources said that the issue of JLN Stadium being turned into a temporary quarantine facility came up during a recent meeting of all district magistrates where it was felt that the government should not use the sports facility for now.

"As authorities got to know about the large religious gathering at Nizamuddin Markaz, it was initially decided that the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium would be used to quarantine those evacuated from Markaz.

"But later, it was felt that authorities should not use the stadium to quarantine COVID-19 suspects," one of the sources said.

"The district administration has deferred its decision to use the stadium as quarantine facility as the situation is under control," the source also said.

The number of coronavirus cases went up to nearly 300 in the national capital on Thursday, with 141 fresh cases and two deaths reported in a day.