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Containment exercise in Deenpur village and Dwarka Sec 11 after cases emerge
New Delhi: The Delhi government stepped up containment measures in southwest Delhi’s Deenpur, a rural village in Najafgarh area, on Tuesday after three family members
New Delhi: The Delhi government stepped up containment measures in southwest Delhi’s Deenpur, a rural village in Najafgarh area, on Tuesday after three family members of Santosh Shokeen, the south corporation’s councillor from Nangli Sakrawati ward tested positive for Covid-19. According to a senior Delhi government official, houses in a one-kilometre radius will be screened, and a containment plan is in place, though the area has not been officially been declared a ‘containment zone’.
Similar measures were put in place in a housing society in Dwarka’s Sector 11 after two people in the society tested positive for the disease. The two people, who are being treated at Lok Nayak hospital, had visited the Tablighi Jamaat headquarters in Nizamuddin. They were living with six other people in a rented apartment, all of whom have now been shifted to an institutional quarantine facility in the sub-city.
Though the two areas have not been declared containment zones, all containment measures are being taken in these two areas, said a senior Delhi government official.
In Deenpur village, which has one of the first few cases of Covid-19 reported from a rural area in Delhi, the person who tested positive is a former area councillor, Sukhbir Shokeen, and husband of sitting area councillor Santosh Shokeen of the Congress.
“His mother and daughter have also tested positive. His wife and others who were in contact have been placed in home quarantine. We have started door-to-door screening of people,” said the Delhi government official. The district surveillance staff is trying to trace the contact history of Sukhbir Shokeen to ascertain from where he contracted the infection. As he is a public figure, the government agencies are screening all his contacts in the last few days.
Santosh Shokeen, who lives in a joint family, said, “Close to 10-15 members of our family are in home quarantine, while the three affected are in hospital. Ever since the lockdown, he used to daily go out to give food to needy people. I think he contracted the infection there.”
Though Deenpur is a rural village, there are several unauthorised colonies in the area.
A resident of the village said, “The police have been going door-to-door to find out the number of people living and whether they are owners or tenants. Now that a person has tested positive, we want each household to be screened.”
According to two senior Delhi government officials, the two who had tested positive in Dwarka were visiting a couple who live in a housing society along with four others.
According to the Delhi government officials, the two people were taken for testing following a complaint by locals.
“The two people who have tested positive had visited the Markaz in Nizamuddin. They have been sent to Lok Nayak hospital and others have been shifted to a quarantine facility in Dwarka,” said a second senior government official.
“It will take four to five days to screen all households in the two areas. We have deployed our staff and asked for additional hands from the South Delhi Municipal Corporation,” said the official.
Another official added, “We got the information on Monday and have prepared a containment plan for the two areas. We have not declared the two areas containment areas, as there is no community transmission reported so far. But measures are being taken to ensure there is no further transmission of the disease,” said a senior government official.
