Kankarbagh, Patna City, Barh and Danapur new buffer zones

PATNA: The Patna district administration has created buffer zones in Kankarbagh, Patna City, Barh subdivision and Danapur as the number of Covid-19 cases has increased in these areas. A buffer zone was created in Rajeev Nagar on Friday after several Covid positive cases were reported from adjoining localities.
Patna DM Kumar Ravi told this newspaper on Saturday that the officials concerned have been asked to complete the data analysis of four other areas and club the containment zones into one buffer zone.
“The number of containment zones in Danapur has been reduced to 53 from 58 as five were included into the buffer zone. One buffer zone each has been created in Transport Nagar and Sultanganj by clubbing four and three containment zones respectively. Around 41 new cases were reported from Kankarbagh where a bigger buffer zone was created by combining eight containment zones, including Ram Lakhan Path and Ashok Nagar localities. Khajekalan is also made a buffer zone as more positive cases were reported,” Ravi said.
“Many people living near the containment zones share the same shops and common areas. So, we clubbed these containment zones to create big buffer zones. Stricter measures will be adopted and intensive door-to-door surveillance would be conducted in these areas,” he said.
A buffer zone is also demarcated like containment zones to curb the spread of virus by urging everyone to exercise extreme caution while going about their lives.
In buffer zones, restrictions will be placed up to 5km from every active cluster. For a cluster, that radius expands to 3km with an additional 2km buffer zone. These buffer zones are monitored by the SDOs.
Explaining the difference between containment and buffer zones, the DM said, “A containment zone has a stricter form of the lockdown and no activities are allowed for 14 days. People are not allowed to leave or enter such areas. While a buffer zone is a certain area marked outside the containment zone. In a buffer zone, essential shops like medicine stores, grocery stores, milk booths and fruit and vegetable shops will be allowed to operate during a fixed time period.”
Social distancing norms and other safety measures have to be followed by the residents. Besides, movement out of buffer zones are allowed only for essential works and in emergency situation.
Patna divisional commissioner Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said health workers, media personnel and government officials living in the buffer zones can move in and out without restrictions by showing their identification cards. “There is no restriction over the movement of people who need urgent health services,” he said and added: “If no new Covid-19 positive case is registered in a buffer zone in 28 days, the district authorities permits the resumption of regular activities there.”