Coronavirus cases may rise, restrict gatherings, state tells district admin

Officials of the Gurugram administration cite example of Kerala, where cases increased during the festive season, and said that they will not take any risk so as to completely eradicate the coronavirus infection in the region

Ahead of the festive season, the state health department on Monday advised the chief medical officer and district administration to prohibit social gatherings to the maximum extent possible over concerns of a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Visitors to the Shri Shiv Narayan Sidheshwar temple, located on Gurudwara Road, are asked to sanitise their hands before entering the premises to curtail the spread of coronavirus cases. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

“We are looking at the rise of coronavirus infection in Kerala due to festive season, which we do not want to repeat in the district. Employees from multiple departments handling Covid-19 duties have been directed to check the implementation of Mahamari Alert-Surakshit Haryana and take actions accordingly,” said Yash Garg, the deputy commissioner.

The state administration on Monday circulated a message on the official WhatsApp group of the district administration, advising officials to regulate gatherings and ensure proper follow-up of patients in home isolation.

According to Garg, the administration will continue to comply with the Mahamari Alert- Surakshit Haryana guidelines of the state administration, which was last revised on August 22. Under the guidelines, gatherings in indoor spaces are allowed with a 50% cap on the hall capacity, whereas 200 people are allowed to gather in open spaces. Religious places are allowed to host 50 people at a go, as per the guidelines.

Dr Virender Yadav, the chief medical officer of Gurugram, said, “As directed by the state health department, teams will continue to follow up with home-isolated patients to prevent transmission of infection and cluster formation.”

Currently, the district has been reporting a constant decline in daily cases. The district on Monday reported at least five new cases of the coronavirus infection. Sixty-six positive cases are currently active, of whom 58 are in home isolation and eight are hospitalised.

Weekly cases over the past month have declined dramatically, from almost 52 in the first week of August to nearly 20 new cases last week.

However, Garg said that despite a decline in cases, they do not want to take any risks.

On Monday, as the city celebrated the Janmasthmi festival, many temples across the city received low footfall during the morning hours. The Shri Krishna temple in Sector 4 was closed during the morning hours, and when it opened in the evening, a limited number of people were allowed inside at a time. The Prem temple on Old Railway Road also received a low footfall in the morning.

Subhash Boken, spokesperson, Gurugram police, said, “Adequate police force will be deployed if we notice gathering in any market area or at any religious place to regulate the crowd.”