Coronavirus - "Operation SHIELD" In Delhi To Tackle COVID-19, Says Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said his administration was starting something called "Operation SHIELD" in the capital city to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

"SHIELD", according to the Chief Minister, will stand for "Sealing, Home Quarantine, Isolation and Tracking, Essential Supply, Local Santisation and Door-To-Door Checking". It will be enforced in neighbourhoods with a high concentration of COVID-19 cases.

"21 areas have been identified as containment zones in Delhi. These areas have been sealed. People are not being allowed to enter or exit from these areas," he said.

"All people in these areas will be under home quarantine. They will not be allowed to leave their homes. Coronavirus positive cases in these areas will be isolated and people they came in contact with will be traced," Mr Kejriwal said.

With the area under total lockdown, essential supplies will be delivered to homes. The government will conduct rigours sanitisation of the locality.

"Under door-to-door checking, each home will be visited by medical professionals to check if anyone has COVID-19 symptoms," the Chief Minister said.

Delhi government's Operation SHIELD in 21 localities of Delhi to contain COVID-19 and protect citizens was announced today by Hon'ble CM Shri @ArvindKejriwal #DelhiFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/Ij6CpqkNHA

— CMO Delhi (@CMODelhi) April 9, 2020

The 21 areas where Operation SHIELD will be enforced include localities in Malviya Nagar, Bengali Market, Sangam Vihar, Mayur Vihar, Dwarka, Nizamuddin, Vasundhara Enclave, Dilshad Garden, Patparganj, Dinpur Village, Jahangirpuri, Kalyanpuri, Khichripur, Pandav Nagar, Krishan Kunj Extension, West Vinod Nagar, Seemapuri, Dilshad Colony and Jhilmil Colony.

The SHIELD programme comes two days after the Chief Minister announced "the 5T plan" of "testing, tracing, treatment, team-work and tracking and monitoring".

Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday also said the Delhi government will drastically cut its expenses given the sharp drop in revenue from taxes.

"The government will only spend on salaries and measures to tackle coronavirus. It's an hour of crisis. Everyone will have to make sacrifices at their own level," he said.

Mr Kejriwal also promised strict action against those who misbehave or discriminate against medical professionals a day after two women doctors of Safdarjung Hospital were attacked in Gautam Nagar by locals who accused them of "spreading coronavirus".

Delhi registered 93 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 669. This includes nine deaths and 21 people who have been released after treatment.