The Gudalur Municipality is using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, to disinfect containment zones in Gudalur town.
Speaking to The Hindu, V. Bhaskaran, Gudalur Municipality Commissioner, said that there had been a surge in COVID-19 cases in Gudalur during the second wave of the pandemic. “As on date, there are 51 containment zones in Gudalur,” said Mr. Bhaskaran.
To minimise the contact that municipality workers have with people living inside containment zones, the drones are being used to disinfect the areas for the last few days. The drones have a capacity to carry around 10 litres of disinfectant, and using the drones offers the municipality the added advantage of disinfecting even hard-to-reach locations within a given area, said officials.
A trial was conducted at the Gudalur bus stand area earlier this week, and the drone is now being used in containment zones across Gudalur.
Vaccines arrive
On Thursday, Nilgiris district collector, J. Innocent Divya, said that the district had received an additional 7,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and that people were readily getting themselves vaccinated at Primary Health Centers and government hospitals across the district.
The Collector said that there were more than 600 containment zones in the district, and urged people to not enter or leave these zones to prevent the spread of COVID-19. She added that daily checks were being conducted to ensure that people living in containment zones have access to provisions and medication.
The district has set up 11 facilities to treat COVID-19 patients, including four government hospitals. There was no shortage of beds or oxygen for patients in the Nilgiris, added Ms. Divya.