The steep hike in the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the Ramganj area of the Walled City of Jaipur has left the administration and health experts worried amid the measures to prevent community spread of coronavirus. Twelve persons, including a man who returned from Oman recently, have been diagnosed with the virus infection in the locality.
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The Rajasthan government on Tuesday ordered sealing of the Walled City, which was earlier placed under curfew, to completely stop the movement of people. Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Rajeev Swarup asked all residents of the Walled City to return home and said no outsider would be allowed into the sealed area.
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Of the 12 infected persons, 11 belong to a single family residing in a multi-storey building in Ramganj. The 45-year-old man, who first tested positive several days after he returned from Oman via Dubai on March 12, came in contact with a large number of people before he developed the symptoms of the disease and went for diagnosis.
Suraiya Parveen, a retired government school teacher residing in the Walled City's Ziledarji Ka Chowk, said though there was panic in the area, strict actions being taken by the administration would instill confidence among the people. “We will be helping the health care authorities by staying at home... My son has imposed a ban on all family members from venturing out,” she said.
House-to-house survey
With the total number of 21 COVID-19 positive cases – including those of an Italian tourist couple – detected in the city, Jaipur is just behind the worst-affected Bhilwara town which has so far reported 26 cases. State Medical and Health Minister Raghu Sharma said active surveillance and house-to-house survey were underway to find out the people who may be carrying the virus.
Meanwhile, about 3,000 pilgrims stranded in the localities near Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s dargah in Ajmer have appealed to the authorities to make arrangements for sending them to their native States. The Dargah Committee, which is a statutory body, has written letters to the Prime Minister's Office and Chief Ministers of States such as Telangana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, seeking their intervention in the matter.
Dargah Committee's Nazim (administrator) Shakil Ahmed said though there was no possibility of a crisis like Delhi's Tablighi Jamaat centre emerging in Ajmer, pilgrims could be sent back by special trains to three directions from the city. “Pilgrims here are not staying at a single location. They are scattered in hotels and guest houses and among the relatives. They are not exposed to the virus infection in a group,” he said. Five persons in Ajmer have so far tested COVID-19 positive. They have been shifted to the isolation ward in Sawai Man Singh Government Hospital in Jaipur for treatment.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot urged all government employees to serve as volunteers during the ongoing lockdown. “Each of them should help in taking care of 20 families. Please ensure that the poor and needy get the benefit of steps taken by the government in this time of crisis,” he tweeted.
