‘Can declare districts containment zones’
NEW DELHI: The Centre has told the states they can consider declaring cities, towns or districts reporting high disease burden as containment zones that would include those with a test positivity rate of 10% or more in the past week, or bed occupancy of over 60% on either oxygen-supported or intensive care unit beds, and impose measures such as night curfews.
Focus will be on containment as a major approach to flatten the current curve of the disease.
In a letter written to the states on Sunday, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said, “...fulfilling any one of the above two criteria should be considered for taking intensive action and local containment measures… primarily focusing on restricting intermingling of people for a period of 14 days for breaking the chain of transmission duly following epidemiological principles. Classification of districts requiring intensive action and local containment may be undertaken by the state on a weekly basis…”
Intensive containment measures would include night curfews, prohibiting movement during night hours, except for essential activities
Social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious, festival-related and other gatherings and congregations will be prohibited. All shopping complexes, cinema halls, restaurants and bars, sports complexes, gyms, spas, swimming pools and religious places will remain closed.
Essential services and activities such as health care services, police, fire, banks, electricity, water and sanitation, regulated movement of public transport including all incidental services and activities needed for a smooth functioning of these activities will be allowed in both the public and the private sector.
Public transport (railways, metros, buses, cabs) will operate at a maximum capacity of 50%; and there will be no restrictions on interstate and intrastate movement, including transportation of essential goods.
The restrictions will continue for a period of 14 days.
However, the Centre has asked states to make a public announcement, outlining the rationale for the same and the kind of restrictions that will be in place, before declaring a containment area.
All these measures will be in conjunction with the Centre’s fivefold strategy of test, track, isolate, treat, vaccinate strategy.
“...Considering this unprecedented surge, there is an urgent need for states to consider strict Covid management and control measures in surge areas to bring the situation under control,” the health secretary said in his letter.