Covid-19: Dists scout for spaces to set up quarantine centres

JAMSHEDPUR/RANCHI: East Singhbhum and Ranchi, which have been worst hit by the second wave of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, has begun scouting for spaces to set up institutional quarantine centres for returning migrant workers.
With lockdown in many states triggering a reverse migration of the workers, East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Suraj Kumar has directed the district officials to identify buildings which can be readied as quarantine centres. Nearly 6.2 lakh migrant workers returned to Jharkhand during the lockdown last year.
The state government has recently made it mandatory for all returning migrant workers to undergo Covid-19 tests upon arrival and stay at quarantine centres for a week if they test negative in Rapid Antigent Test (RAT).
Out of nine blocks in East Singhbhum, five have reported less than 500 cases so far in the second wave while two have reported over 1,000 Covid-19 infections. Urban areas such as Jamshedpur, Mango and Jugsalai have reported nearly 35,000 cases in the second wave. The mortality is also much lower in the rural areas of the district (27) compared to the urban areas (739).
In Ranchi, deputy commissioner Chhavi Ranjan on Friday inspected the quarantine centre which has been set up for migrant workers at the Tana Bhagat Indoor Stadium in Mega Sports Complex in Hotwar. A statement issued by the Ranchi district’s public relations department said that besides the medical facilities, sanitation, water supply and electricity, the quarantined migrant workers will also be provided meals by the administration.
At Hatia railway station, migrant workers bound for other districts will be provided with buses, where they will be tested and quarantined for a week. “In case of migrant workers who are from urban areas, they will be quarantined at Hotwar and if they test negative through RAT after a week, they will be allowed to go to their homes,” the statement read.
Migrants from rural parts of the district will be ferried to their respective block headquarters and will be tested through RAT and will be quarantined.