Govt appoints senior IAS official as nodal officer to facilitate movement of migrant workers; Kejriwal says Delhi govt to continue plasma trials

The Delhi government on Friday appointed senior IAS officer P K Gupta as the "nodal officer" to facilitate movement of migrant workers and other people stranded in the national capital, and directed officials to prevent unlawful assembly or movement of people during the coronavirus lockdown.

In a zone-wise classification of districts in the country, the Union Health Ministry has designated all 11 districts of Delhi as 'red' zone.

Addressing an online briefing, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said his government was in talks with other states on the movement of migrant workers and would soon come out with a detailed plan.

He appealed to migrant workers to stay put and follow the lockdown rules till the time a proper plan is executed.

According to an order, Special Commissioner Muktesh Chandar has been appointed as the nodal officer of Delhi Police and he will provide all assistance and logistic of police department to Gupta for movement of stranded people from Delhi to other states.

Gupta is the principal secretary of the social welfare department.

Earlier this month, the Delhi government had appointed 10 bureaucrats as nodal officers for coordination with resident commissioners of states to address the concerns of migrant workers in the city.

These bureaucrats will also provide assistance to extend all assistance to Gupta.

In an order by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, officials have been asked to take all necessary measures and make all out efforts to prevent unlawful assembly of persons in any part of the national capital.

The order signed by Delhi's Chief Secretary Vijay Dev, stated that adequate number of pickets should be set up in all areas where migrant workers are residing to prevent their movement.

On March 28, thousands of migrant workers thronged Anand Vihar bus terminus on the Delhi-UP border to go back to their villages.

Similarly, on April 14, the last day of the first phase of the lockdown, several hundred migrant workers had assembled on the west side of Bandra suburban station demanding trains to take them to their native places, just hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an extension of the lockdown till May 3.

On bringing back students from the national capital stranded in Rajasthan's Kota - the coaching hub for engineering and medical aspirants, Kejriwal said the Delhi government is sending 40 buses, the chief minister said.

"I was getting many requests from students stranded in Kota and their parents. We are sending 40 buses today (Friday) to Kota to bring them back. By tomorrow (Saturday), they will return to Delhi," he said.

The students will have to go into self-quarantine for 14 days upon returning to Delhi, he said.

Kejriwal also said the Delhi government will not stop clinical trials of plasma therapy to treat severally-ill COVID-19 patients as its initial results are good.

The announcement came days after the centre said that plasma therapy for treatment of coronavirus patients is at an experimental stage and it has the potential to cause life-threatening complications.

He said a COVID-19 patient, whose condition was serious, has been discharged from hospital after undergoing plasma therapy and that the Delhi government has got permission from the centre to conduct trials at LNJP Hospital.

He also said the number of coronavirus cases in the national capital is high due to large scale testing being carried out by the Delhi government.

There was confusion over plasma therapy after the centre's statement, he said, adding that he got phone calls enquiring whether Delhi government will stop its trials.

"We are not going to stop clinical trials of plasma therapy. We are getting good results of the therapy. However, it is on trial basis. The results of this therapy are not final yet. We hope that we will soon find a solution," Kejriwal said.

Until Thursday, the total number of coronavirus cases stood at 3,515 with 59 fatalities.

The chief minister said the government is identifying more containment zones, but the number has been decreasing over the last few days.

So far, four containment zones have been de-contained.

Four weeks after being sealed under Operation Shield, Mayurdhwaj Apartment in East Delhi is being de-contained. No new cases found. Congratulations to the health team and all residents, Kejriwal tweeted.

Meanwhile, the Health Department has asked medical directors to get written explanations from COVID-19 infected healthcare workers on how they contracted the disease despite wearing protective gears.

According to a Delhi government order, medical directors of non-coronavirus hospitals are "indiscriminately" sending doctors and other medical workers in quarantine for 14 days. "This practice is causing unnecessary shortage of doctors and staff at hospitals," Health Secretary Padmini Singla said.

On the Delhi-Gurgram border, scores of people commuting to the satellite city were sent back by the state police, which only allowed passage of those associated with essential services.

The Haryana government has sealed the border with Delhi to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The policemen manning the border at Sarhaul toll had a tough time handling the situation as motorists and people having jobs in Gurugram argued with them showing their passes.

While the Haryana government has said that people associated with essential services will be allowed to enter Gurugram, several people claimed that despite having passes, the police did not allow them to cross the border.