Two deaths and 183 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi on Friday, taking the toll to 14 and total cases to 903. This is the largest single-day jump in cases since April 2 when 141 cases were reported.
Meanwhile, sources said that the Delhi government is working on a plan to enforce pan-city containment in case there is community spread of COVID-19.
According to the Delhi government, the city is still seeing local infections.
Thirty zones
In the evening, the Delhi government added eight more areas to the list of containment zones, including Zakir Nagar, Nabi Karim and Chandni Mahal. There are now a total of 30 such zones in the Capital.
Chief Secretary Vijay Dev on Friday reviewed the situation at 22 containment zones, including stretches in Malviya Nagar, Nizamuddin, Dwarka, Jahangirpuri, Moti Bagh and Bengali Market.
“Multiple agencies are involved in the containment process and a standard operating procedure is being chalked out for several possibilities revolving around the epidemic and community spreading – both in parts of the city as well as all across the Capital,” said a government source.
According to the government, Delhi Police has been directed to ensure containment in the areas through adequate barricading and deployment to prevent any “unauthorised movement of persons.” The police are also being assisted by Civil Defence volunteers.
Surveillance of these containment zones will be carried out by a dedicated team with the help of the Surveillance App, which has been developed for real-time monitoring of residents.
A dedicated helpline for grievance redressal is also being set up.
Officials from the Department of Food and Supply have been mandated to ensure smooth supply of essential goods and services to the residents while the civic bodies have been asked to undertake cleaning and sanitisation of the entire area.
The Chief District Medical Officer of the area has been directed to enforce medical regulations, check residents as per protocol, conduct medical tests, quarantine suspected people and carry out house-to-house surveillance of suspected cases, according to the office of the Chief Secretary. The containment plan will be reviewed based on experience and field inputs, officials from Mr. Dev’s office said.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has prohibited all gatherings and processions, especially religious ones, during festivals in April to curb outbreak of COVID-19.
