From Our Bureau
1ST MAY 2020
A total of 35,365 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the country so far and the death toll mounted to 1,152 on Friday. As many as 9,065 persons have been cured with a recovery rate of 25.6 per cent. The number of active cases in the hospitals reached 25,148, according to the latest update from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Several actions have been taken by Government of India along with the States/UTs for prevention, containment and management of COVID-19, through a graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach. These are regularly being reviewed and monitored at the highest level.
All the districts of the country have been divided into green, orange and red zone. State/Union Territories and district administration through focused efforts are required to ensure that the districts where cases have come up i.e. red and orange zones can break the chain of transmission through effective and stringent containment measures.
Containment zones should be delineated duly taking into account mapping of cases & contacts; geographical dispersion of cases & contacts; areas with a well-demarcated perimeter; and enforceability.
States/UTs are also advised that containment zones can be residential colony/ mohallas/ municipal wards or police station area/ municipal zones/ towns etc. in urban areas as appropriate. In case of rural areas, zones can be village/ clusters of village or group of police stations/ gram panchayats/ block etc. as appropriate.
States/UTs also need to clearly demarcate the buffer zones and containment zones. In containment zones, stringent perimeter control, active search for cases through the house to house surveillance by special teams formed for the purpose, testing of all cases as per sampling guidelines, contact tracing and clinical management of all confirmed cases need to be done while in case of buffer zones, extensive surveillance for cases through monitoring ILI/SARI cases in health facilities needs to be done.
It is reiterated that for breaking the chain of transmission, it is important to follow hand hygiene, like washing hands with soap and water or using sanitizer; to disinfect and regularly clean all frequently touched surfaces such as table-tops, chair handles, keyboards, mouse, mouse pad, etc.; everybody should wear a mask or face cover as appropriate; download the Corona tracker app “Arogya Setu” for self assessment of risk; and maintain physical distancing. (eom)
