Officials are strictly enforcing the COVID-19 containment protocol in the four Containment Zones in Belagavi district.
The 14 positive cases have emerged from four families — the camp area in Belagavi, Bilgundi, Hire Bagewadi and Kudchi in Raibag.
The three villages and large parts of the camp have been declared Containment Zones. All movement has been restricted, except for medical emergencies, essential supplies and movement of government vehicles.
City corporation and gram panchayat officers have put up barricades across all roads leading to these zones.
Similar measures have been taken in villages bordering Maharashtra and Goa. For example, access to villages such as Borgaon, on the border, has been cut off.
As per the national protocol, officers are working on three tasks — security and isolation, essential supplies and health surveillance.
A team of Health Department officials are moving in groups of four across the zones and collecting health data. They visit each house to first record health parameters such as diabetes, hypertension, heart ailment and other serious conditions. Secondly, officers test every person to see if they have fever, breathing problems or other symptoms indicative of COVID-19. Each family is visited once every week to check for symptoms.
In case symptoms are found in any person, he is taken to the local government hospital for a primary check-up and to the district designated hospital for COVID-19 treatment.
Municipality or gram panchayat officers take up cleaning, fogging and disinfectant spraying in the zones.
“We have released adequate funds to each taluk to buy personal protection equipment, masks and gloves for all health workers and sanitary workers. The local bodies will buy them and supply them to the workers,” said zilla panchayat CEO K.V. Rajendra.
Officers of agriculture, horticulture and urban development departments and the panchayats are managing movement of essential supplies. Officers are allowing movement of goods vehicles carrying milk, foodgrains and vegetables. Water and medicine, whereever necessary, are being ordered by the officers and being supplied through officers themselves, he said.
