New Delhi: Health minister Pankaj Kumar Singh on Friday said that private laboratories in the city had detected 23 Covid-19 cases up to May 22.
Govt was urgently investigating to ascertain whether these cases involved residents or travellers from outside the city, raising concerns about potential community spread, he said.
Singh reassured people that there was no need to panic, as the detected symptoms remained consistent with typical influenza.
“Delhi govt is fully prepared to deal with any situation,” he said. “We have already coordinated with all medical superintendents, doctors and their teams across hospitals in the capital.”
The minister said a comprehensive report will provide clarity. All 23 patients are stable, the minister said. Officials noted that these cases were documented over the last 10 days.
Places such as Hong Kong and Singapore have reported a spike in cases, and despite national figures remaining modest compared to previous surges, Mumbai, Chennai, and Ahmedabad have registered increased infections.
The minister said healthcare facilities are vigilant and resources have been allocated for a swift response. Eight senior officers are conducting hospital inspections and providing situation reports.
The health department maintains close surveillance and will issue regular public updates. Residents should adhere to health protocols and support official directives, he said.
Following Singh’s instructions, the health department has issued Covid-19 preparedness guidelines to all hospitals. The advisory from the special secretary of health and family welfare outlined requirements for bed availability, oxygen supply, medicines and vaccines.
All equipment, including ventilators, Bi-pap, oxygen concentrators, and PSA, must remain operational. Staff training and daily reporting of cases on the integrated health information platform are mandatory.
Daily updates must be submitted to the state health data management portal, with adequate testing. Testing requirements include 5 per cent of influenza-like cases and all severe respiratory cases.
The advisory mandates sending positive samples for genome sequencing to Lok Nayak Hospital for variant detection and reporting to the state surveillance unit. Respiratory protocols, including mask wearing in medical facilities, remain compulsory.
