Coronavirus: Delhi Govt starts converting schools into night shelters

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Government has begun to convert over 500 schools into night shelters for migrant labourers fleeing the Capital, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on March 28.

The Asian News International reported that Sisodia visited Ghazipur, bordering Uttar Pradesh (UP), where a large number of people had gathered to leave for their native places in buses arranged by the UP government.

The ANI quoted Sisodia as saying that Delhi Government would also make special arrangements for the migrant labourers to go back home. But Sisodia also appealed to them not to go back as Delhi Government was taking all steps to support them in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. “We have also provided some DTC [Delhi Transport Corporation]] buses to transport them. I urge people to stay put where they are,” he said. A Sarvodaya Co-Ed Senior Secondary School in IP Extension has been converted into a night shelter, for instance.

दिल्ली सरकार की क़रीब 100 और उत्तर प्रदेश सरकार की क़रीब 200 बसें दिल्ली से पैदल जाने की कोशिश कर रहे लोगों को लेकर जा रही है. फिर भी सभी से मेरी अपील है कि लॉकडाउन का पालन करें. कोरोना का असर नियंत्रित रखने के लिए यही समाधान है. बाहर निकलने में कोरोना का पूरा ख़तरा है.

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) March 28, 2020

Food and shelter

Delhi has 39 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

Hundreds of thousands of people from the neighbouring states of Delhi like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana are scrambling to get back home after the government announced the 21-day lockdown on March 22. Since the long-distance trains have been cancelled, many have set out on foot.

Speaking on a programme aired on India TV on March 27 Sisodia said the Delhi government was prepared to give free food and shelter to around 20 lakh migrants, if the situation warranted it.

Quoting Sisodia, news websites reported that 325 schools were being turned into night shelters, and the final number would reach 550.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has 775 “active” coronavirus cases and has seen 19 deaths. However, a government hospital in Kerala on Saturday reported the death of a coronavirus patient with a history of travel to the Gulf region, taking the death toll to 20.

Coronavirus has killed more than 22,000 people across the world.

Also read:

• COVID-19 Lockdown: 325 Delhi Govt schools will distribute food
• Coronavirus: India needs a billion dollars to catch up on research

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