'Delhi govt vigilant on mpox'

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Friday that the city government was maintaining strict vigil on the mpox situation and closely monitoring developments.

During a press conference, he said that they were carefully observing the actions taken by both the central and other state governments. “We are closely monitoring the situation. We are keeping a close watch on the actions taken by both the central and (other) state governments.”

Earlier this week, the Delhi govt directed the LNJP Hospital, GTB Hospital and the Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital to set up isolation rooms for the management of suspected and confirmed mpox cases while emphasising that no patients had been detected. The LNJP Hospital has been designated as the nodal facility while the other two are on standby.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in view of its prevalence and spread across many parts of Africa.

Meanwhile, Bharadwaj criticised Lt Governor VK Saxena for delay in staffing new and existing hospitals.