62 ‘high risk’ Bapu Dham residents put under institutional quarantine
CHANDIGARH:The UT administration has put as many as 62 ‘high risk’ persons from Bapu Dham Colony in Sector 26, one of the city’s six containment zones, under institutional quarantine at a facility set up at the community centre in Sector 47.
Unlike a home quarantine, an institutional quarantine is notified inside a government school, an indoor stadium, community centre or a building with toilet facilities.
The move came after coronavirus cases in the city grew by 78% in the past two weeks, all from the six notified containment zones.On April 24, there were 28 cases in the city, which increased to 124 by Wednesday. Correspondingly, in less than two weeks, over 1,800 people have been put under home quarantine.
More than 75% of the total cases in the city are from the six containment zones – Bapu Dham Colony, Labour Colony in Sector 30, Kachhi Colony in Dhanas, part of Sector 38, parts of Sector 52 and part of Shastri Nagar, Manimajra.
Bapu Dham Colony with 66 cases of the total 124 accounts for more than 50% city’s cases. Labour Colony has 20 cases. All these areas have been sealed by the administration. An estimated around 80,000 people are in these zones.
“Bringing them to institutional quarantine will help in constant medical supervision, and ensuring social distancing,” said a senior UT official, who didn’t want to be named.
CHALLENGE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING
UT’s move also comes in view of the latest guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs stressing on ensuring social distancing in highly congested areas.
As per MHA order, high risk cases, which includes families with positive cases or people living in close proximity to those who have tested positive can be put under institutional quarantine.
Notably, Bapu Dham Colony, the epicentre of coronavirus cases in the city, is home to 60,000 people residing in 2,500 multistorey houses, with an average family of five sharing a room in a 25-yard house with shared toilets, thereby making social distancing practically impossible to be achieved here.
When contacted, UT adviser Manoj Kumar Parida, said, “We cannot put the entire 60,000 people in Bapu Dham Colony under institutional quarantine, but we have started selectively and sent high risk cases to the quarantine centre in Sector 47.”
INSIDE THE QUARANTINE
At the Sector 47 community centre, the quarantined persons have been given mattresses to sleep on the floor, are given food twice a day, and those from the same family have been kept in single rooms. However, some of the quarantined persons, talking to Hindustan Times, complained about poor sanitation, inadequate facilities and food at the centre. “We have apprised the officials of the poor quality of food, dirty toilets, and used masks dumped in the building,” said a quarantined person, who didn’t want to be named.
The UT official, who responded to the complaints, said, “All the persons are being monitored by a team of doctors daily, which wasn’t possible in their houses. We have arranged for tea and milk, in addition to three-time meals. We are also cleaning and sanitising the centre daily.”