Senior nursing officers from state government-run hospitals will be deployed as nodal officers in private healthcare facilities to monitor the situation of the COVID pandemic and vaccination at the private facilities, according to a decision made by the Delhi government on Monday.
The government-run hospitals have been tasked with finding a suitable replacement for nursing personnel who have retired or been transferred.
A late-night order issued by the Delhi health department on Tuesday (January 18) stated that “the competent authority is pleased to deploy senior nursing officers as nodal officers in various private health care facilities from Delhi government hospitals to monitor the management of Covid-19 patients as well as the monitoring of Covid vaccination.”
The letter states that these senior nursing officers have been relieved from their positions at their respective hospitals with immediate effect, and that they should report to their places of employment in private hospitals without waiting for any formal relieving orders from their respective hospitals to be issued. The order has been issued to all medical directors and medical superintendents of state-run hospitals who are subject to the law.
Meanwhile, the national capital reported 11,684 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours on Tuesday, the most in the country. The new Covid infection has brought the total number of infections to 17,34,181. At the same time, 38 deaths have been reported in the city, bringing the total number of deaths in the city to 25,425.
Delhi’s positivity rate has also dropped to 22.47 percent, a significant decrease from the previous day’s reading of 27.99 percent. According to the Delhi health department, the active caseload in the city has decreased by more than 5,000 cases, bringing the total number of cases in the city to 78,112.