The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has deployed 20 doctors and six dozen paramedical staff for ramping up medical facilities to counter the fresh surge in Covid-19 cases in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
“As intimated by MHA, in view of rising number of Covid positive cases in Delhi and NCR, it has been decided to operationalise additional number of beds/ICU beds in Covid Care Centres at Chattarpur (being run by ITBP) and Delhi Cantt. (being run by AFMS),” reads an internal order of the CRPF.
Accordingly, MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) has desired to detail 20 Medical Officers and 60 paramedical staff from CRPF and they were asked to report in Delhi by Monday (November 16), officials said.
After consideration of pros and cons, competent authority in the CRPF has approved deployment of medical officers and paramedical staff from various formations of the paramilitary, they said.
Apart from those detailed in the Covid Care Centres in the national capital, 14 doctors have been kept in reserve and 10 paramedical staff have been kept on standby to augment any further exigency in the national Capital.
The Union Home Ministry has further instructed that those who are not entitled to air travel may be allowed to travel by air so that they can reach Delhi in time by the earliest flight.
For smooth deployment of the medical officers and paramedical staff, the Sector Inspector Generals and Heads of Offices were directed to relieve the identified personnel by Monday so that they can report in Delhi on the designated time.
The CRPF headquarters has further directed its units not to grant leave to the medical officers and paramedical staff kept in reserve without the approval of the Medical Directorate of the paramilitary force.
The move comes after the Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high level meeting on Sunday with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and officials of the Central government and Delhi administration to contain the spike in the numbers of those getting infected with Covid-19 here.
The ITBP-run Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre at Chattarpur has 10,000 beds capacity and the other one at Delhi Cantt. has provision for 1,000 beds, including 250 ICU beds.