Quarantined, Then Told No Coronavirus Test: Student Back From Spain

About 150 Indians, who were recently quarantined in Delhi over coronavirus or COVID-19 after they returned from Spain, have complained of poor hygiene and lack of protocols at the isolation unit.

A student who was among those taken to the isolation facility in west Delhi's Dwarka said he was released in 12 hours after several tests, adding that no tests were done for the highly contagious coronavirus.

Some students who spoke to NDTV claimed they were made to wait for several hours for the tests. In one of the clips, a nurse can be heard saying she has just one thermometer. Visuals from the quarantine facility, which show dirty toilets and rooms, were shared on social media.

"Soon after we landed, thermal screening was done at the airport. As I could see, people were honest about revealing details of their travels...they had a sense of responsibility," a student told NDTV.

"As we reached the isolation unit, some people said not disclosing travel history would have been better. We were initially told we would be taken to isolation unit in Chattarpur, but we eventually were taken to Dwarka," he recalled.

"At the unit, we were told that no coronavirus test would be done. Most of us were asked to leave, except those who had high blood pressure or fever," he added.

The District Magistrate, Rahul Singh, while speaking to NDTV, said: "There was time constraint in setting up the facilities. They were given one day to arrange the facility in which they arranged all the basic minimum things to make the facility livable for the occupants. However, there were some complaint by the students and the people who came from Spain, and on that I did an inspection of the location and got the issues fixed."

Coronavirus or COVID-19 - declared a pandemic by the WHO- has spread to 143 countries across the world. Over 7,000 people have died and more than one lakh have been infected.

The outbreak originated in China but the epicentre is now Europe where Italy and Spain are the worst affected countries.

In India, three people have died, more than 120 cases have been confirmed. The central government has taken a slew of stringent measures. On Monday, the centre declared a countrywide lockdown of schools, colleges, gyms and swimming pools - crowded areas that could lead to an exponential spread of the virus.