NEW DELHI: Bara Hindu Rao Hospital in North Delhi was sealed on Saturday after a nurse tested positive for COVID-19.
The hospital will remain closed till it is fully sanitized and tracing of all who came in contact with her is done.
According to sources, the nurse was symptomatic for the past few days, yet she was asked to come for duty. Hindu Rao hospital is the largest hospital under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation which sees high patient footfall every day owing to no presence of any other government hospitals.
Recently, the hospital came under controversy after a doctor was terminated from his service for allegedly distributing safety kits purchased for hospital doctors to other hospitals. However, the termination was cancelled after Union Minister Harsh Vardhan intervened.
Meanwhile, around 40 healthcare workers including doctors, nurses and staffs of Babu Jagajivan Ram Hospital have tested positive for coronavirus. Some of the doctors and other staffers have been admitted to the LNJP Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital and some private hospitals, while the rest have been sent to quarantine facilities, including one in Narela.
According to an official from the hospital, the reason for such high number of infection is likely because there seems to be a "community transmission" of the disease in Jahangirpuri area of North West Delhi, where there are various containment zones.