PUNE: Drastic drop in Covid-19 cases has resulted in zero micro-containment zones in eight of the 15 PMC wards. Even the remaining seven wards have just 13 sealed areas, the lowest since May.
The latest micro-containment zones are in areas like Lohegaon, Phursungi, Hadapsar, areas along Paud Road like Sutardara, Ambegaon, Santoshnagar-Katraj and parts of Kasba Peth- Guruwar Peth. The localities of Shivajinagar, Aundh-Baner, Dhole Patil Road, Sinhagad Road, Kondhwa, Yerawada, Bibvewadi and Warje-Karvenagar do not have a single micro-containment zone.
A civic official said, “Prior to this, there were 33 containment zones in the Pune municipal limits. Now, only a few areas have containment zones. The Hadapsar-Mundhwa and Dhankawadi-Sahakarnagar ward limits have just three containment zones each, while Kothrud-Bavdhan and Ahmednagar Road-Vadgaonsheri have two each. The Kasba Peth, Bhavani Peth and Wanowrie ward areas have one containment zone each.”
The official said the administration would continue to take stock of the situation every two weeks.
As per the latest data released by PMC, the number of active cases have dropped below 5,500 in the municipal limits. Of these, 12% patients are admitted in various hospitals, while remaining are in home isolation. A month ago, PMC had over 14,100 active cases.
PMC health officials said since last month, the cases had been coming up sporadically without any major outbreak.
Mayor Muralidhar Mohol said the micro-containment zones had been on the decline in the city since October. “Many areas now have no containment zones. The spread of virus has been under control even in the congested localities like slum pockets. But people should understand that the virus has not gone completely. People should continue to wear masks and follow social distancing norms.”