E-Paper
With spike in Covid-19 cases, number of category-2 containment zones reaches 173
With the number of cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) rising in the last few weeks, the number of category-2 containment zones in Ghaziabad district has also
With the number of cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) rising in the last few weeks, the number of category-2 containment zones in Ghaziabad district has also increased manifold.
According to the latest records of the district health department, with the addition of nearly 138 more category-2 containment zones in less than a month, Ghaziabad had a total of 173 such zones till July 10, while the number of category-1 containment zones stood at 189.
According to the previous list issued by the district administration on June 18, the district had 244 category-1 zones and only 35 zones under category-2. Health officials said that over the last few weeks, with the high movement of people many category-1 zones have also been converted into category-2 containment zones.
“The rise in the number of category-2 containment zones is due to the high movement of people after the restrictions on mobility were slowly lifted (especially after Unlock 1.0 kicked in on July 1). Given this scenario, we have more instances of people from the same family, friend circle, or locality contracting the deadly virus. Hence, more than one case is being reported from the same residential pockets including high-rises,” said Dr NK Gupta, chief medical officer, Ghaziabad.
According to Uttar Pradesh government guidelines, category-1 containment zones are created in pockets with only one Covid-19 case, and the sealed areas are spread over a radius of 250 metres. On the other hand, the category-2 zones are created where more than one case is reported from a pocket, and an area spread over a 500-metre radius is sealed with a buffer area going up to a 250-metre radius.
As per the daily health bulletin released by the state control room, as on July 13, the district has a total of 3,257 cases, including 120 reported in the last 24 hours. Till May 31, the district had only 305 cases, and nearly 2,971 cases were added to the district’s Covid-19 tally since June 1 alone. According to the health department data, Ghaziabad has witnessed an average of about 127 new Covid cases every day since June 12.
So far, the state has 1,248 active cases, the second-highest figure in Uttar Pradesh after state capital Lucknow (which had a total of 1,460 active cases till Monday). As many as 1,966 patients have been cured of the infection discharged from various hospitals in the district, while 62 people have succumbed to the disease.
“To contain the spread of the virus, our prime focus is on the containment zones where we have increased testing with rapid antigen kits. We also conducting surveillance drives in containment zones for early detection of influenza-like-illnesses (ILI) and and SARI cases. We have just finished with the 10-day long special surveillance drive on July 12. We are now going to rope in health workers for another round of surveillance in containment zones to check the rise in cases,” the CMO said.
According to officials, between March 5 (when the first Covid-19 case surfaced in the district) and July 12, as many as 50, 000 samples have been tested in Ghaziabad. Of these, 19,000 samples were tested through rapid antigen testing that started here on June 26.
The Ghaziabad administration on July 9 roped in police officers along with health department workers, administrative officers in order to intensify contact tracing in the district. The teams will get information about positive patients from the health department and will initiate contact tracing with the help of 18 nodal police officers appointed for areas under every police station in Ghaziabad.
According to the latest list, localities such as Indirapuram, Vaishali, and Vasundhara, under the jurisdiction of Indirapuram police station, have about 223 overall active cases (till July 10), while localities like Arthala, Mohan Nagar, Karhera, Pasonda, Shalimar Garden etc, under the jurisdiction of Sahibabad police station, have about 184 active cases (till July 10).
The locality of Khoda which was put under the administration’s ‘sector scheme’ has over 36 cases.
In localities such as Vijay Nagar, Pratap Vihar, under the jurisdiction of Vijay Nagar police station, the overall cases are about 105. In localities like Raj Nagar, Kavi Nagar, Sanjay Nagar, Shashtri Nagar, etc under the jurisdiction of Kavi Nagar police station, the overall active cases are about 100.
