A detailed containment plan is under preparation. (File)
A DAY after two health workers at PGI were detected with COVID-19, raising its tally to 23, Chandigarh has been declared as a containment area as per Home Ministry guidelines, prompting the local administration to quarantine outsiders entering Chandigarh for 14 days Sunday onwards. People from neighbouring cities, government employees and others involved in essential services will be exempt from the quarantine rule. Chandigarh was declared COVID-19 hotspot on April 15.
Adviser Manoj Parida said that since in Chandigarh, the cases have been scattered and not confined to a specific pocket, area, village or cluster, the entire district has been declared as a containment zone. A detailed containment plan is under preparation.
Principal Home Secretary Arun Kumar Gupta told Chandigarh Newsline, “Now there is no scope of small relaxation to be given for construction work, small industry etc. to operate on the condition that workers will eat/stay at their work places etc. after April 20. Earlier, we were thinking of giving these relaxations. Chandigarh does not contain any rural area. We have received 4,800 rapid testing kits for COVID-19.”
The two PGI health workers who tested positive stay in congested localities. Authorities have not able to trace the source of infection. Similarly, the source of a Sector 30 woman, has also not been traced yet.
However, the UT administration on Saturday decided to keep closed the wholesale mandi at Sector 26 for sanitisation and cleaning. There will be no distribution of vegetables and fruits by the administration’s buses on Monday. The residents can avail the facility of essential Shops opened in markets from 11 am to 3 pm and home delivery from 9 am to 9 pm.Flour mills should be kept open so that beneficiaries receiving wheat under Pradhan Mantri Gramin Kalyan Yojna can get it milled. MP Kirron Kher urged the local administration to distribute the milled wheat instead of unmilled wheat because it can lead the chaos at flour mills.
Sanitisation through drones
K K Yadav, commissioner, Municipal Corporation, said sanitisation through drones has been started in the capital city. He also said that distribution of baby food for needy mothers has been arranged by the civic body.
Delivery boys being medically examined
The Administrator said all delivery boys of online companies (Zomato, Swiggy etc.), milk vendors and traders have been medically examined through special camps.