The Greater Chennai Corporation has reported a sudden decrease in COVID-19 containment zones in the city.
The number of containment zones was reduced to 420 on Tuesday from more than 1,150 in all the 15 zones.
Officials in Tondiarpet zone, which reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases in the past few weeks, have delineated just three COVID-19 containment zones.
Most containment zones have been removed from the list after no positive cases were reported for 14 days.
Civic officials have compiled a list of 730 streets that had been dropped from the list of containment zones in the 15 zones. The 730 streets were reportedly barricaded after residents tested positive for COVID-19 in the past few weeks.
Even as the survey of COVID-19 symptoms has been taken up in all houses, no cases were reported from the 730 streets in 14 days.
Residents in the containment zones have been prevented from crossing the barricades for the past few months. The relaxation in norms pertaining to COVID-19 containment zones have facilitated road transit in most of the areas that reported COVID-19 positive cases.
In the initial days of the pandemic, the Corporation delineated 2,500 houses in the area after a resident tested positive for COVID-19.
At present, the civic body has stopped the practice of drawing a cordon, cutting off the entire area after COVID-19 cases were reported. The civic body has started creating containment zones only on specific premises where positive cases are reported. The relaxation of norms has reduced hindrance to residents’ movement.
Freedom of movement
The reduction in containment zones has led to relaxation of movement for residents.
The number of residents in containment zones were estimated at 3 lakh in the initial days of the pandemic in the city. The number has been reduced to less than one lakh on Tuesday.
The largest number of 125 containment zones have been removed from Royapuram zone. Residents in 125 containment zones in Royapuram have been permitted to move out of the area after barricades were removed. Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar zone has also seen 125 containment zones removed.
The former Corporation floor leader V. Sukumar Babu said many residents were scared about the rise in number of positive cases even after removal of barricades from containment zones.