On a day when Tamil Nadu recorded 56 new cases of COVID-19, taking the tally to 1,323, Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam indicated that the ‘containment zones’, numbering 388 across 34 districts, might stay in place even beyond May 3, when the extended lockdown is scheduled to end.
Mr. Shanmugam on Friday said that as per the guidelines of the Central government, any such zone would have to continue as it is till the “last reported positive case” of COVID-19 was cleared. There was, therefore, no link between the duration of the lockdown and the continuance of containment zones.
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Of the containment zones in the State, rural areas account for 239 of them and urban areas 149, according to data available with the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
For a person who has tested positive to be discharged from hospital, the protocol is that he should have no symptoms, test negative twice and undergo 14 days’ hospitalisation, after which he will have another 14 days of home quarantine, said Health Secretary Beela Rajesh.
Explaining the Centre’s norms, Mr. Shanmugam said that if a ‘red’ area (a hotspot) does not report a fresh case for 14 days, it will turn ‘orange’. If the trend continues for a further 14 days, it will be turn ‘green’. In other words, it will take 28 days for a hotspot to turn green, he clarified.
As far as Chennai is concerned, a substantial number of the containment zones are in northern parts of the city such as Roypauram and Tondiarpet. Approximately three lakh people reside there, pointed out G. Prakash, Commissioner of the Greater Chennai Corporation. In Coimbatore district, there are 18 containment zones, of which 10 fall under the limits of municipal corporation, while the rest are in rural areas of the district, said K. Rajamani, Coimbatore Collector. Across the State, around 86 lakh people live in such zones, noted K. Kolandaswamy, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, adding that they are getting screened on a daily basis.
Pointing out that the authorities are carrying out both active and passive surveillance in the zones, Dr. Rajesh said that an active case search is also being done door-to-door. On an average, a designated health worker covers 50 households a day. Such a health worker may be an accredited social health activist, an auxiliary nurse midwife or an anganwadi worker.
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It is for the authorities to attend to the requirements of residents in the zones, both medical and non-medical. After blocking access to the areas, officials of local bodies, police, health and revenue man the entry and exit points. For the purchase of groceries or other essentials, the residents come to the perimeter of the zones where there are either temporary stalls or mobile units, invariably between 6 a.m. and noon. During hours other than the prescribed period, the people can call helpline numbers or get in touch with the district control rooms. “We have one counsellor in each district control room,” added Dr. Rajesh.
