NEW DELHI: At least 33 healthcare workers of Max Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi’s Patparganj area have tested positive for the highly infectious novel coronavirus. This is the second hospital under Max Healthcare, one of India's largest private healthcare providers, to develop cluster of COVID-19 infections.

While two are doctors, 23 are nursing staff, and the rest are technicians and support staff, a leading daily reported on Monday.

“As part of our ongoing routine COVID-19 testing for all healthcare workers, admitted patients and new admissions, a total of 33 healthcare workers have tested positive since the exercise began earlier this month at Max Hospital, Patparganj,” the hospital group was quoted saying.

“All of them have been shifted to our COVID-only Max Hospital, Saket, east wing," it said.

Besides, 145 nurses from the facility were also quarantined for 14 days in a private hostel where they live, which has been sealed and declared a containment zone by local authorities.

At the Max's Saket hospital on April 13, at least 39 nurses were quarantined after a doctor, a nurse and a paramedic tested positive. Two days later, the hospital chain announced on April 15 that it would test its 24,000 healthcare workers and 1,000 patients across the country over the next few weeks.

The daily reported quoting an unidentified health department official that the hospital began contract tracing of the hospital staff after a patient undergoing dialysis tested positive for coronavirus.

“During investigation, we found 145 nurses from the hospital living in the same hostel, with each room being shared by three-four nurses. Samples of all nurses were sent for testing,” the official was quoted saying.

As on Monday morning, the number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi stood at 2,918, with 54 fatalities.

In the national capital, two hospitals have been sealed as several healthcare workers tested positive. The Hindu Rao Hospital run by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, has been temporarily shut on Saturday for sanitisation and contact tracing.

Another hospital Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in north-west Delhi's Jahangirpuri will remain sealed until building has been completely sanitised after 44 staff including doctors were found infected with COVID-19. The patients who need critical care are being attended, while no new patients are being admitted in the hospital, officials said, as reported by a channel.

Also Read: India COVID-19 Updates: Confirmed Cases Jump To 27,892; Death Toll Nears 900