Noida: To seal or not to seal? Rules leave residents guessing

NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA: Containment rules in Noida have left residents confused. For most, the notion of a tower turning into a containment zone — at a time offices are gradually opening up — is dreadful. For some, the area not being sealed after a person has tested positive for Covid-19 is a cause for concern.
Residents of sector 100, where a man tested positive four days ago, said the health department was yet to seal the tower where he lived. Similarly, after a 55-year-old man tested positive in Sector 27, the health department put his family members in home quarantine instead of taking them to hospitals. “In fact, no one from the health department or the district administration arrived here. Only a few Noida Authority officials had come and sanitisation was carried out,” said Pawan Yadav, the RWA president. The man, however, had tested positive in a private lab. Of late, questions have been raised on the efficiency of private labs to carry out Covid tests and many such facilities have been issued notices by the administration.
According to latest containment rules, only a tower will be sealed if there is just one positive case reported from there. Others towers will be exempted. Yadav said residents had been following social distancing norms as part of precautions. “We dialled the national helpline at 1075, but they gave us reference of officials in Lucknow. We informed them, too, but were provided the number of the DM’s office. However, no team arrived for sealing the tower,” he added.
In Sector 37, residents are equally worried about containment measures after a man who showed symptoms of the virus was admitted to GIMS and his samples were taken on Monday. The caretaker of the building where the man stays said he worked at a private hospital and showed symptoms before being admitted to GIMS. “A team from the health department arrived here on Tuesday and asked the remaining family members to stay in home isolation. They are staying in two rooms on the second floor,” Ayub said. However, the entire building has not been sealed. In Greater Noida, residents of B block in Sector XU (III) are waiting since May 28 for a row of houses to be sealed after a cop staying in the locality tested positive along with his wife. The area features on the list of containment zones.
One of the neighbours, KP Singh, took to Twitter. “There are around 20-30 families living in the same lane as the cop. Regular movement needs to be stopped to curtail the spread,” he said. Dr Sushil, who lives a few blocks away, added, “There are 150 houses in B-Block. They need to stop the vegetable vendor from going door to door.”
Told about the residents’ concern, district magistrate, Suhas LY said, “I have directed officials to seal the tower immediately.”