Hours after issuing an order directing the Medical Directors to seek written explanation from COVID positive health workers as to how they were infected, the Delhi government on May 1 suspended the order till further notice.

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Firstly, in an order, the Health and Family Welfare Secretary said the health workers should explain how they became a contact in spite of wearing the required protective gear, maintaining safe distance and following precautions prescribed for healthcare workers.

The order said it is reported that many doctors, nurses, paramedics and other staff in non-COVID hospitals are either getting infected or reported as a contact of infected persons. "Medical Directors are indiscriminately sending them in quarantine either at hotels or their homes for 14 days. This practice is causing an unnecessary shortage of doctors and staff in hospitals."

The order said it seems the situation is so because either hospitals are not following standard SOPs or such persons are not following guidelines prescribed for healthcare workers. It said a Medical Director is also required to constitute a team of doctors to ascertain whether a contact fulfils the Central government's guidelines to be declared as the contact of a positive patient.

Within hours, the Secretary issued another order saying the previous order "is hereby kept in abeyance till further orders".

More than 200 health professionals from non-COVID facilities across the national capital have tested positive for coronavirus.