New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Saturday rolled back his order on mandatory five-day institutional quarantine period for COVID-19 positive patients stating that only those patients need to undergo institutional quarantine who do not require hospitalisation and do not have adequate facilities for home isolation.

“Regarding institutional isolation, only those COVID positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment & do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation,” Baijal said in a tweet. Baijal had on Friday issued an order that every COVID-19 positive person in Delhi will have to stay in five-day institutional quarantine.

“Every corona positive person will have to stay in quarantine centre for five days. Only then a person will be sent to home isolation. But if there are symptoms then they will be sent to the quarantine centre or hospital, accordingly,” the order had said.

According to Union Health Ministry, Delhi has a total of 53,116 COVID-19 cases.

Delhi govt, L-G spar over ending Covid home isolation

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday opposed Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s order for a five-day mandatory institutional quarantine for COVID-19 patients, asking why was a separate rule being applied for the city, sources said, as his deputy Manish Sisodia said they could not reach a consensus on the decision at a Delhi Development Authority meet.

In a series of tweets, Sisodia said no consensus could be reached in the meeting on the LG order and the rate of private hospital beds and another meeting will take place at 5 pm.

At the meeting, Kejriwal said the ICMR has permitted home isolation for asymptomatic and mild symptom COVID-19 patients in the whole country, then why a separate rule was employed in case of Delhi, according to sources.

“Most corona patients are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms, how will arrangements be made for them. The coaches provided by the Railways for isolation are hot inside where patients cannot stay,” Kejriwal was quoted as saying at the meeting.