Ground zero Hindpiri reopens, 3 micro containment zones in locality

Ranchi: The entire Hindpiri area in the heart of the city, the ground zero of the outbreak in the state, is now a non-containment zone, after being sealed since April 11. While Ranchi DC Rai Mahimapat Ray on Monday said they have not detected a single positive case from area with a population of 65,000 in the last 28 days, his statement contradicts health department data that says eight cases have been reported in the area in May and the last positive case here was reported on May 20.
The district disaster management committee had met on Sunday and decided to forego the containment zone citing guidelines and recommendations from the state government. On Monday morning, when TOI visited the area, people were celebrating the unlocking of the locality, where the state got its first Covid patient when a 22-year old Malaysian woman, a member of the Tablighi Jamaat tested positive for the virus on March 31.
Several commercial establishments selling essentials and non-essential opened for business and a few people went in to buy what the needed. Vegetable shops and bakeries also remained opened, as they said they had lost a year’s business due to the lockdown during Ramzan.
Sajjad Idrisi, a resident of Nala Road, said: “I do not know about other areas in Hindpiri, but people in our lane have become aware of the infection and are maintaining social distancing norms and wearing masks. No one is venturing out unnecessarily as we have faced the worst of the outbreak.”
Md Aslam, a baker near Urdu Library, said: “We suffered a lot and lost business during the crucial month of Ramzan in the runup to Eid, but we are hoping that corona cases do not increase further and we can earn our bread and butter in peace.”
However, a section of people still believe that the residents were targeted on the pretext of the virus and a conspiracy was hatched to defame the community after a few members of Tablighi Jamaat tested positive in early April. “Two people were removed from the microbiology lab in Rims after they were found tampering with test results of samples collected from Hindpiri. This was done at the behest of a local legislator who wanted to defame us,” said a resident of Kurban Chowk area.
On Sunday evening, Ranchi DC Rai Mahimapat Ray announced the decision of removing containment measures from Hindpiri and said no case has been detected in the area in 28 days. “The decision has been taken on the basis of reports presented before district disaster management committee after verifying government guidelines,” Ray said.
The claim however contradicts Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) data that says eight persons from the area tested positive in May and results of 83 samples are awaited. Ray clarified, “Of the eight cases, five were not detected through contact-tracing. They were in isolation when they were tested. The areas where the three others tested positive between May 11 and 19 have been converted into a micro containment zone.” He added, “Any containment zone can be redefined by the deputy commissioner’s authority as per the new guidelines issued by state government.”
The district administration also said it has completed door-to-door screening in 70,000 households in area where CRPF was deployed to enforce the lockdown on April 28.