Operation SHIELD successful in containing COVID-19 spread in Dilshad Garden: Delhi health minister

"Operation SHIELD" has been successful in containing the spread of COVID-19 in the Dilshad Garden area, which was one of hotspots of the dreaded virus in the national capital, the Delhi government said on Friday.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain issued a statement here saying that the hard work of the health officials and the successful implementation of Operation SHIELD has made Dilshad Garden a coronavirus-free area.

No new cases were reported from Dilshad Garden in the last 10 days, it said.

The government said it would also initiate random testing of residents soon.

Sealing, home quarantine, isolation and tracking, essential supply, local sanitisation and door-to-door checking are the key aspects of SHIELD in any containment area.

According to the statement, under Operation SHIELD, 123 medical teams screened more than 15,000 people living in 4,032 houses in east Delhi's Dilshad Garden and hospitalised coronavirus suspects, after seven confirmed cases were reported from the area.

The Delhi government, with the help of the city police, imposed a curfew in Dilshad Garden and Old Seemapuri.

Taking about the earlier spread of COVID-19 in Dilshad Garden, it stated that a 38-year-old woman and her 19-year old son had returned to Delhi from Saudi Arabia after meeting her husband on March 10.

On March 12, she developed fever and cough, and was checked by a local doctor.

Three days later, the woman was taken to GTB hospital, where the doctors referred her to the RML hospital.

On March 17, she tested positive, the statement said, adding that on March 18, the authorities traced that she had met nearly 81 people after returning from Saudi Arabia.

On March 20, her brother and her mother also tested positive and the next day, her two daughters tested positive. Two days later, the local doctor tested positive as well.

The Delhi government traced the people who had come in touch with the woman and quarantined them.

"The Delhi government took the help of CCTV cameras to find out the movement of her son and traced the places or the people he visited," the statement said.

There are around 25 hotspots in the national capital.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the national capital stood at 720 on Thursday.

Of the total cases, 430 are related to the religious congregation that took place in Nizamuddin area in March.