2% of 23,351 passengers diagnosed with Covid at Delhi bus, train stations from 4-14 Sept

The data is part of an affidavit filed by the Delhi government in the Delhi High Court on 15 September.

Bus passengers at Anand Vihar ISBT in Delhi | Representational image | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

New Delhi: Only 2.3 per cent of the people who entered Delhi by bus or train between 4 September and 14 September tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Arvind Kejriwal government has told the Delhi High Court in an affidavit.

According to the affidavit, accessed by ThePrint, a total of 15 testing teams have been deployed across four Inter State Bus Terminals (ISBT) and three railway stations. Two others are posted at as many Metro stations. 

The affidavit was submitted in court on 15 September, a week after the high court directed the Delhi government to arrange testing facilities at ISBTs and railway stations. The high court’s instructions came as it hears a plea seeking higher levels of testing in Delhi.

As of Tuesday, Delhi had recorded 2,53,075 coronavirus cases with 5,051 deaths and 2,16,401 recoveries.

Testing at railway stations and ISBTs

The nine locations where teams have been deployed to conduct rapid antigen tests (RATs) include the four ISBTs at Kashmere Gate, Sarai Kale Khan, Shahdara, and Anand Vihar, and three railway stations at Nizamuddin, New Delhi, Old Delhi. The remaining two teams are deployed at the Shahdara and Jhilmil Metro stations. 

Between 4 and 14 September, the Delhi government affidavit states, 23,351 people were tested across the four bus terminals and three railway stations. Of these, only 548 or 2.3 per cent tested positive for the novel coronavirus. 

In addition, the Delhi government affidavit also states that a total of 79 mobile testing teams have been deployed across all of the capital’s 11 districts. 

In addition, Geospatial Delhi Limited, the government’s geo-knowledge enterprise, has been appointed to map fixed-site testing facilities. These maps will be placed at prominent spots at Metro stations and uploaded on the website of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which operates the suburban train service. 

The two testing teams deployed at the Shahdara and Jhilmil Metro stations tested 138 and 76 people, respectively, on 11 and 12 September, they government said. Of these, two tested positive at Shahdara and one at Jhilmil.

The government also said in the affidavit that it will proportionately bolster testing at railway stations as the number of trains being operated increases.