Pune: Dhole Patil Road ward adds 743 cases in just two weeks

Sarang Dastane | TNN | Updated: May 31, 2020, 07:33 IST

As the lockdown inches closer to its end, more vehicles and people were seen venturing out near Shivaji Road on Saturday

As the lockdown inches closer to its end, more vehicles and people were seen venturing out near Shivaji Road o...Read More

PUNE: The areas under the Dhole Patil Road, Yerawada-Kalas-Dhanori and Bibvewadi ward offices have recorded maximum rise in Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks, leaving their residents most vulnerable to the contagion.

While the Dhole Patil Road ward areas added 743 cases in the 15-day period between May 15 and 29, the localities under the Yerawada-Kalas-Dhanori and Bibvewadi wards added 398 and 278 cases, respectively. “All these wards have densely populated localities, including slums. Extensive contract tracing and rigorous surveillance carried out in these pockets is the reason for such rise in cases,” a civic official said.
Bhavani Peth, which had recorded the highest number of cases in the initial period of Covid-19 spread in the PMC limits, is now on the fourth spot with the increase of 231 new cases in the last two weeks
A senior civic official said, “The Dhole Patil Road ward has witnessed an outbreak, with the emergence of some localities as new Covid-19 hotspots. For instance, coronavirus cases have shown a spike in slum rehabilitation authority (SRA) scheme known as Manjulbai chawl. The administration has already initiated thorough checking in all these areas. Similar steps are under way in the areas around containment zones of Yerawada and Bibvewadi wards. In case of detection of positive case, our teams are conducing medical check-ups of all the people in the buffer zone.”
The PMC had identified 10 micro-containment zones in Bibvewadi area two weeks ago. Five such zones were identified in Yerawada-Kalas-Dhanori.
The other wards reporting significant rise in coronavirus cases include Kasba-Vishrambaug ward that added 179 cases, Wanowrie-Ramtekdi and Hadapsar wards, which added 167 and 127 cases, respectively. The Sinhagad Road area, which had 20 cases on May 15, added 107 cases in the two weeks.
The Shivajinagar-Ghole Road, which has been among the top five wards in terms of maximum positive case load, has added 122 cases. The Aundh, Kothrud and Warje wards continued to remain at the bottom with least addition of cases. While Aundh-Baner ward added 14 cases, Kothrud-Bavdhan and Warje-Karvenagar reported 18 and 21 new cases, respectively. The PMC has initiated mapping of existing 65 containment zones based on detection of cases.