Coronavirus: Manish Sisodia said the government has written to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.

People who test positive for coronavirus should not go to a quarantine centre for evaluation, the Delhi government said today, objecting to the Centre’s new guidelines. The government has written to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal requesting a return to the old system, under which a government team visited the patients at their homes to evaluate their condition, check the facilities at their homes and decide whether they should be moved to coronavirus care centre or home quarantine is enough.

Pointing out that it is not advisable for positive people to stand in queues, he said this new system of having patients go to quarantine centres first for assessment will put pressure on the ambulances also.

The quarantine system in Delhi has gone through multiple changes over the past weeks.

While initially, home quarantine was the norm for all but patients in very serious condition, last week, amid a surge in coronavirus cases, the Lieutenant Governor had ordered mandatory institutional quarantine for all.

But the Delhi government pointed out that it would mean arranging over 90,000 hospital beds, which was virtually impossible at the moment. The order was later modified, with the Centre saying all coronavirus patients will have to go to COVID-19 care centres. Only those who have facilities at home and have no other risk factors like diabetes, hypertension or kidney problems, can remain in home quarantine.

But the order also requires that people who test positive through a lab-based swab test will be first taken to a government centre for assessment o whether they qualify for home isolation.

Today, Mr Sisodia said the frequent change in rules is creating confusion for the people.

“First they (the Centre) stopped home isolation and now got it implemented again. Now people are facing difficulties,” Mr Sisodia said.