Kolkata: After sudden spurt, areas in Patuli, Beliaghata may get back C-zone tag

KOLKATA: Covid-19 positive cases are far from being over in Patuli-Baghajatin and Beliaghata-Phoolbagan belts even as the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Kolkata Police have removed eight containment zones from these two belts.
The fact that Covid positive cases are on the rise in Patuli-Baghajatin belt was clearly established on Thursday after a rapid antigen test conducted on Covid suspects at a camp in Patuli revealed that out of 90 people, who underwent the test, 27 tested positive. Last Monday, eight out of 60, who had undergone antigen test, had reported positive.
Sources in the KMC Covid response team and cops said they were also worried over frequent emergence of Covid positive cases from Beliaghata (close to Subhas Sarobar) and Phoolbagan areas after lifting containment zones in the belt.
Police sources on Thursday indicated that a few blocks of Rabindra Pally in Patuli and some blocks near Subhas Sarobar in Beliaghata could again be brought under a containment zone after a surge in positive cases in the past 72 hours. There are five containment zones still operational in these two areas. The local OCs, KMC coordinators and KMC executive health officers usually discuss bringing new areas under containment and then forward the proposals to KMC headquarters and Lalbazar.
Besides enforcing containment rules, the cops and KMC ward coordinators are planning to set up safe houses within the containment zones to shift Covid-positive patients with mild symptoms to these houses. “At Patuli, we have decided to forward a proposal to set up a 200-bed safe home. We are trying to ensure that instead of keeping some people in home isolation, where there are lack of amenities, we can shift them to this facility here,” said a source.