All roads leading to Vidya Jyothi Nagar in Hongasandra have been barricaded. At the end of the road, the cluster of sheet houses where nearly 200 migrant workers lived is deserted.
On Friday, the number of COVID-19 positive cases stood at 21 within the community of migrant workers, most of whom hailed from Bihar.
Health Department officials are trying to ascertain the source of the virus in patient 419. The patient was reportedly working at a construction site in Mangammanapalya. Sources said the building owner is absconding.
The BBMP, which has cordoned off a 100-150 metre radius around the cluster, is conducting a survey of pregnant and lactating women, senior citizens and those suffering from chronic ailments. There are 1,213 houses and 3,731 residents.“Over the past three days, we have been asking residents to stay indoors and not venture outside,” said a senior civic official.
Officials in-charge of putting up barricades said that the residents came forward to suggest where the barricades could be put up.
A total of 185 persons have been identified as primary contacts and 38 as secondary contacts. “We are still conducting surveys to identify secondary contacts. Once identified, they too will be immediately shifted to quarantine facilities,” said an official deputed to monitor the containment zone.
The civic body has also begun distributing food kits to the residents. “The social profile of the area is mixed. Some residents from middle-class households refused the kits and urged us to give it to those in need,” the official said.
The Shifaa Hospital on Queen’s Road and the 100-metre radius around the facility has also been cordoned off. A senior official told The Hindu that since this was a commercial area, there were no problems in that particular containment zone. “There have been no commercial activities around the hospital since the lockdown was announced,” the official clarified.
Containment zones in 20 wards
BBMP’s war room report states that two wards in the city have reported 8 to 27 COVID-19 positive cases, three have 6-7, two have 4-5 cases, seven have 2-3 cases, while 22 wards have one each. Containment zones have been put in place in 20 wards.
