Coronavirus Update: Jaipur’s Ramganj emerges as new Rajasthan Covid-19 hotspot
The Ramganj area in Rajasthan capital Jaipur, with a population of 2.6 lakh, has been put under a curfew, along with 11 other police station areas in the city after it emerged as a Covid-19 hotspot. Door-to-door screening is being performed here to monitor the situation.
Rajasthan reported 96 positive coronavirus disease cases on Sunday. Of these, 35 were reported from Ramganj, a densely populated locality in Japiur, which has emerged as hotspot for the infectious disease.
Health officials have, however, said that the spike is due to aggressive testing being done to identify the magnitude of the problem.
Ramganj, with a population of 2.6 lakh, has been put under a curfew, along with 11 other police station areas in the city. Door-to-door screening is being performed here to monitor the situation.
Alok Vyas, a social worker, said the numbers were rising at an alarming rate due to which the people were anxious. “Initially when curfew was imposed, people took it casually and did not adhere strictly. But now the administration is also very strict and people have become more disciplined,” he said.
The health department has set up six centres for people to get tested.
The residents, however, have alleged people are not getting a regular supply of essentials. A resident, Prabhakar Sharma, said, “We are not getting ration nor have any government vans come to our area.”
He said that milk is available only in the mornings at the government dairy and only a couple of medicine shops were open in the neighbourhood.
The first person to test positive for Covid-19 in the area was a 45-year-old man who returned from Oman on March 12. He was asked to home quarantine himself, but he continued to meet people. He tested positive on March 26.
Health minister Raghu Sharma said the Bhilwara model to prevent community spread of the virus could not be followed in Ramganj because of its population density, so the government has come up with the cluster model for Ramganj in which random sampling is being done.
Additional chief secretary, health, Rohit Kumar Singh said the high numbers should not worry anyone. “Ramganj is reporting large number of positive cases because of very aggressive testing. It is part of our strategy to identify the real magnitude of the problem,” he said.