KMC forms special committee to contain COVID-19 spread in city

Kolkata, May 9 () A special committee has beenformed by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for containing thespread of COVID-19 in different parts of the city, a member ofthe panel said.

Chairperson, caretaker board of administrators of thecivic body and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim, formerdeputy mayor Atin Ghosh, four community medicine experts andKMC health officials are members of the newly formedcommittee.

The panel was formed after Hakim assumed charge aschairperson of the caretaker board of administrators (BOA) ofthe KMC on Friday.

The state government appointed the board sinceelections could not be held to the KMC owing to thecoronavirus outbreak. The Calcutta High Court on Thursdayallowed the BOA to act as the KMC's caretaker board for amonth.

Ghosh told on Saturday, "We will sit everyafternoon to take stock of the situation and decideaccordingly.

"Apart from containment zones, we will review thesituation in other areas of the city as well. There should notbe any laxity in any zone, be it a containment zone, red zoneor an orange zone. The KMC will not lower its guard in any ofthese areas and strict monitoring will be done everywhere," hesaid.

A KMC official said, several containment zones arelocated in boroughs 1-9 and borough number 15, located acrossvast swathes in north, central and south-western parts of thecity.

However, he did not spell out the exact number ofcontainment areas.

"The number of such zones is changing every day. TheKolkata Police, health department, and the KMC are revisingthe figures on a regular basis. There are multiple containmentzones in the 10 boroughs," the official said.

House-to-house surveys are being done by healthofficials in coordination with the police and the KMC in thecontainment areas while in other pockets Anganwadi workers arealso at work, he said.

It is being done to track an infected person andensure that he gets proper treatment.

The Municipal Affairs minister had earlier askedpeople not to move from one locality to another to avoidcommunity transmission of the deadly virus. SUSMM MM