11k cases in city, containment returns
The number of Covid-19 cases in the city neared the 11,000 mark on Monday, most of them coming from the west and south zones of the city. As of Monday evening, there were 10,961 cases in the Greater Hyderabad area out of the 15,394 cases state-wide.
This may lead to ‘containment zones’ being back in the city. The government had earlier discarded the protocols of the original containment plan proposed by the Union ministry of health.
With nearly 900 cases a day being reported from the GHMC limits, the government has decided to strictly implement containment measures.
According to health minster Etala Rajendar, strict control of the movement of
people in the affected homes and immediate neighbourhood will be enforced.
According to Central
government guidelines, no one is allowed to leave or enter a containment zone. In the buffer zone that could extend up to three
kilometres, some movement is allowed. At this point, it is not clear if the state will follow these guidelines fully.
Mr Rajendar said collection of samples from people suspected of having
Covid-19 will be part of the drive to test at least 50,000 people from 30 Assembly constituencies in the GHMC area, and will be resumed on Tuesday.
The collection of samples at special camps as part of this drive was suspended on June 25 as the health department could not handle the flow of samples, either in terms of their safe storage or conducting the tests.
By the time the special testing drive was suspended, a total of 36,000 samples had been collected and the health department had
8,253 samples that needed processing. Mr Rajendar said only 2,800 swabs from the drive now remained to be tested.
“Chairing Sunday’s extensive review on Covid-19, the Chief Minister instructed that testing should be stepped up in areas from where increasing numbers of cases are being reported. He said we should follow Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines, and based on the patient’s condition, he or she should be placed under home quarantine or sent to a hospital,” Mr Rajendar said.