Madhya Pradesh plans buffer zones for stricter curbs - Hindustan Times
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Madhya Pradesh plans buffer zones for stricter curbs

Hindustan Times, Bhopal | By
Apr 26, 2020 06:20 AM IST

Madhya Pradesh is among the states where the Centre has deputed interministerial teams to probe perceived lapses in efforts to control Covid-19 and violations of lockdown regulations.

Madhya Pradesh is working on a plan to create buffer zones around 463 Covid-19 containment zones in the state to implement stricter restrictions there to check the spread of the pandemic as there are no signs of improvement in the situation, two officials said on Saturday. As of Saturday, the state had 1945 cases and it has drawn flak for its handling of the situation.

Indore is the worst-hit place in Madhya Pradesh and accounts for 170 containment zones in the state followed by Bhopal with 143.(ANI file photo)
Indore is the worst-hit place in Madhya Pradesh and accounts for 170 containment zones in the state followed by Bhopal with 143.(ANI file photo)

Madhya Pradesh is among the states where the Centre has deputed interministerial teams to probe perceived lapses in efforts to control Covid-19 and violations of lockdown regulations. As many as 107 officials and employees of the state health department tested positive for the disease after some top officials allegedly hid their travel history and continued attending meetings.

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As many as 25 out of the state’s 52 districts have been affected by Covid-19. Indore is the worst-hit place in Madhya Pradesh and accounts for 170 containment zones in the state followed by Bhopal with 143. A containment zone can be as small as one lane in a residential colony or a wider area, where a hard lockdown is imposed and people are not allowed to step out of their homes.

“There are no signs of improvement in the situation in the state particularly in the hotspot districts. Hence there is no likelihood of any immediate relaxation from lockdown restrictions in these areas after May 3 [when the second phase of the national lockdown will end]. Rather, there will be stricter compliance of restrictions to control the situation,” said one of the officials cited above on condition of anonymity.

A second official said the state government is working on the new containment strategy as per the Centre’s guidelines. “The government’s concern is to protect non-Covid areas and convert the Covid areas into non-Covid areas by controlling the situation so that normal life could be restored in most of the districts, if not all, in the next few months.”

Officials said there will be clear demarcations of clusters, which have reported large outbreaks within containment zones. The boundaries of containment zones will be decided on the basis of factors like population density. There will be clear entry and exit points in the containment zones. Hotspots can move to the green category from red only when there is no new Covid-19 case for 28 days, the officials said.

Only one or two roads will be kept open in containment zones and that too for essential services only. All the roads connecting containment zones will be guarded heavily by police. There would be assistance from volunteers, technology and no unchecked movement of people except for essential services will be allowed.

“In buffer zones, there will not be as many restrictions as in containment zones but still there would be strict monitoring of the movement of people and also there will be surveys and screening of people for Covid-19 as these are the areas which are likely to be affected...” the second official said.

“Even districts with no Covid-19 cases will be under enhanced surveillance to ensure people with symptoms are immediately identified, tested and hospitalised. For this, health professionals will be trained and there will be an enhanced community awareness programme.”

Health minister Narottam Mishra said several measures have been taken and hoped there will be an improvement in the situation. He added the death rate has come down significantly from about 10% to about 5% against the national rate of 3.16%. “The state government will take any further decision based on the prevalent situation, taking into considerations the views of the experts and also under the guidance of the central government.”

Public health expert Amulya Nidhi said, “No containment plan can work if the state government doesn’t increase its testing capacity to get the report of test of samples immediately. Also, a community participation in the government and the administration’s decisions is badly required which is lacking so far. These are some of the main reasons behind the alarming increase in Covid cases in Madhya Pradesh, the state becoming one of the worst managed states in the country and Indore and Bhopal emerging as major hotspots of Covid-19 patients.”

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Ranjan Srivastava leads HT’s coverage from Bhopal. He has spent more than two decades in journalism in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, covering political and other affairs. For the past 16 years, he has been working in Madhya Pradesh.

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