PUNE: The number of micro-containment zones in the PMC areas are much less than in the neighbouring PCMC limits having more active patient due to different approaches adopted to mark such .
The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) marks a micro-containment zone when two patients are found in a building. For the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the number is five.
The PMC limits have nearly 400 containment zones as compared to over 2,000 in PCMC areas. But there are 51,000 patients in the PMC limits as against 25,000 in the PCMC limits.
PCMC commissioner Rajesh Patil told TOI, “We decided on the system of marking a micro-containment zone when at least two nCoV positive cases are identified in a house, flat or a floor, to curb the spread of Covid-19. The strategy has so far worked. The government guidelines suggested at least five cases to describe a building a micro-containment zone. But since we had already formed the system, we did not change it.”
Hde said there has been “a tremendous load” on the administration due to the rising Covid-19 cases in the past few weeks. The civic administration has deployed frontline and healthcare workers from different departments, such as Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) and also civic schools, to monitor the micro-containment zones.
In the PMC limits, the maximum micro-containment zones are in areas such as Kothrud, Hadapsar, Satara road and Ahmednagar road.
Medical practitioner and health activist Abhijit More said, “A focused approach should be adopted in the smaller micro-containment zones. Even contact tracing can be done in a scientific manner. The civic administration can reach out to the patients and help them with limited manpower.”
A resident of a sealed society in Warje said, “We have 12 buildings in our society, out of which almost every building has one or two patients. The entire society is a micro-containment zone. But most of the essential services are available on the campus.”