GB Nagar to test vendors supplying essential goods to residents during lockdown

The officials said after sealing the Noida-Delhi borders, the next step to halt the spread of the coronavirus is to test the vendors who are supplying essential goods to the residents in the district.

The Gautam Budh Nagar administration said it will test all vendors engaged in supplying essential commodities such as milk, vegetable, medicines for the coronavirus infection to keep the rising number of cases in check.

A vegetable vendor with produce loaded on a cycle cart, on the third day of the 3-week national lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus, in Noida, India, on March 27, 2020. (Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)

The officials said after sealing the Noida-Delhi borders, the next step to halt the spread of the coronavirus is to test the vendors who are supplying essential goods to the residents in the district. Officials said if vendors contract the deadly infection, they can act as carriers and the virus can spread to others.

“We have decided to test vendors for coronavirus to ensure they are not infected with the virus as they are engaged in delivering supplies, often door-to-door, in Noida and Greater Noida areas. The state government has asked us to test the vendors who are supplying essential goods amid the lockdown. If the state government will ask us to test others who are engaged in essential services, then we will follow the orders immediately and make arrangements for their tests too. Our objective is to completely break the chain of the virus spread,” said Narendra Bhooshan chief executive officer, Greater Noida authority, and officer-in-charge for Covid-19 in Gautam Budh Nagar.

The health department is likely to start testing the vendors soon.“We will start testing all vendors in the next one or two days. We are in the process of making arrangements for conducting the tests,” said Dr Deepak Ohri, chief medical officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.

The Noida and Greater Noida authorities have registered all vendors supplying essential goods in Noida and Greater Noida, respectively amid the lockdown. At least 900 vendors in Noida and 700 vendors in Greater Noida are authorised to supplying vegetables, fruits, medicines, etc to households during the lockdown. The district has 33 hot spots, where vendors are delivering supplies at doorstep, while in other areas essential goods are being delivered at gates of housing societies, said officials.

The officials added that they will also ensure that all vendors wear masks and gloves to ensure they don’t contract the infection and do not spread it to others.

All top officials of the Noida authority, the Greater Noida authority, and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) have been told to brief their staff to follow all safety guidelines while distributing food or ration at shelter homes and distribution centers in their respective areas.