Coronavirus update: Delhi govt to scale up disinfection drive in containment zones

By Sunday evening the Delhi government announced 10 new containment zones, taking the total number of such areas to 43 in the city. The new zones included three in upscale East of Kailash residential neighbourhood in southeast Delhi.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that sanitisation and disinfection drives will be scaled up from Monday in the containment zones created across the city to prevent the spread of coronavirus and “high-risk” areas ascertained by the health department, for which his government has availed machines that can disinfect up to 20,000 square metre area per hour.

Deserted view of Tilak Marg on day nineteen of the 21-day nationwide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus, in New Delhi on April 12, 2020. (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

“We are starting a massive sanitation programme tomorrow (Monday). PI Industries (an agriculture sciences company) have provided us with 20 Japanese hi-tech machines that are capable of disinfecting 20,000 square metres area in an hour. The machines were provided for free. Other than that, the Delhi Jal Board has 50 smaller machines which will be deployed in the disinfection drive,” said the chief minister in a video press conference.

“Delhi currently has 33-35 containment zones. Our teams have identified more areas and more containment zones will be notified in the next couple of days. All these areas will be subjected to Operation SHIELD. People living in these areas may face some difficulties but we will ensure that they receive essentials at their doorstep. It is for their safety,” said Kejriwal, citing the example of Dilshad Garden, in east Delhi.

By Sunday evening the Delhi government announced 10 new containment zones, taking the total number of such areas to 43 in the city. The new zones included three in upscale East of Kailash residential neighbourhood in southeast Delhi. The South East Delhi district now has the highest number of containment zones (12), outnumbering East Delhi district, which had the highest number of containment zones (9) in the national capital.

Dilshad Garden is an identified coronavirus hot spot in the city where the strategy was deployed and no fresh cases were recorded in the area since April 1. Few lanes in the neighbourhood are still notified containment zones.

“No new case of COVID-19 has been reported in Dilshad Garden in the last 10 days due to Operation SHIELD,” he said.

Sealing, home quarantine, isolation and tracking, essential supply, local sanitisation and door-to-door checking are the key aspects of ‘SHIELD’ in any containment area.

“Operation SHIELD will be implemented in all areas which have been declared as containment zones... I know people would be facing difficulties in these areas, but it is necessary for saving their lives,” Kejriwal said.

RED & ORANGE ZONES

For the new sanitation and disinfection drive, Kejriwal said, all containment zones will be referred to as “Red Zones”. He further said, “The government is in the process of ascertaining high-risk zones and experts have been roped in. Those will be referred to as Orange Zones. Both Red Zones and Orange Zones would witness heightened sanitation and disinfection drive.”

When asked about the list of orange zones, a senior official in the Secretariat said, “Currently, all buffer zones are being treated as orange zones. With time, the list will be updated.”

Buffer zones are geographical areas immediately surrounding containment zones, as described by the Union health ministry in a document — Containment Plan for Large Outbreaks — released last week.

In the next couple of days, the senior officer said, areas such as agriculture market, those with high population density and those which have residents of SARS-CoV-2 patients but have not been marked as containment zones are likely to be added in the list of orange zones.

“The spike in the number of cases in Delhi is a concern. But I am sure, it can be controlled,” he said. On Saturday, Delhi crossed 1,000 active cases of coronavirus.