Delhi declares 56 areas coronavirus containment zones as it crosses 1500 infection mark

• Delhi government on Wednesday(April 15) declared ten more areas in the city as containment zones, taking the total number of Covid-19 hotspots sealed in the national capital to 56.
  
• The Ministry of Health defines COVID-19 containment zones as the area where a number of positive cases of coronavirus are found.
  
• Delhi’s Nizamuddin emerged as a hotspot after over 2,000 people had assembled at the Markaz building there for a religious congregation in early March.
  
• The northeast Delhi area Dilshad Garden came in limelight when a woman who travelled from Saudi Arabia tested positive for coronavirus.
  
• The South Moti Bagh slum in South Delhi turned into another containment zone after a sanitation worker at AIIMS tested positive.

Delhi government on Wednesday(April 15) declared ten more areas in the city as containment zones, taking the total number of Covid-19 hotspots sealed in the national capital to 56.

As per a government notification, the new hotspots include Balaji Apartment, Sant Nagar, Burari, area of A-1B/75 A Krishna Apartment, Paschim, area of A-280 JJ Colony, Madipur and area of 36/4, East Patel Nagar

Containment Zones, also known as the red zones, are the area sealed by the district administrations after coronavirus cases are found in the locality.

Among the 10 new such zones, one is in the South West District, while nine are in South East Delhi, according to a list issued by the city government.

In South West Delhi, Gali number 5 and 5A, H-2A Block, Bengali Colony, Mahavir Enclave, have been sealed.

After the administration sealed the area, the Delhi government started 'Operation SHIELD' in the area.

Operation SHIELD -- sealing, home quarantine, isolation and tracking, essential supply, local sanitisation and door-to-door checking -- is used to control the spread of the virus, the Delhi Health Department said.

Delhi government's 'Operation SHIELD' has completely stopped the transmission of coronavirus in Dilshad Garden with no new cases reported in the last 10 days.

Here is a list of all containment zones:

1.Entire affected street near Gandhi Park, Malviya Nagar

2. Entire effected street of Gali No 6 , L 1 Sangam Vihar

3. Shahajahanabad Society, Plot No 1, Sector 11, Dwarka

4. Dinpur Village

5. Markaz Masjid and Nizamuddin Basti

6. Nizamuddin West (G and D blocks)

7. B Block Jhangirpuri;

8. H. No 141 to H. No 180, Gali No 14, Kalyanpuri

9. Mansara Apartments, Vasundhara Enclave

10. Three Galis of Khichirpur, including Gali containing H. No. 5/387

11. Gali No 9, Pandav Nagar

12. Vardhaman Apartments, Mayur Vihar, Phase I Extension

13. Mayurdhwaj Apartments, IP Extension, Patparganj

14. Gali No 4, from H. No. J-3/115 (Nagar Dairy) to H. No. J- 3/108 (towards Anar Wali Masjid Chowk), Kishan Kunj Extension

15 Gali No 4, from H. No J-3/101 to H. No. J-3/107, Krishan Kunj Extension

16. Gali No 5, A Block (From H No. A-176 to A-189), West Vinod Nagar

17. J and K, L and H pockets, Dilshad Garden

18. G, H, J, Blocks, Old Seemapuri

19. F-70 to 90 Block, Dilshad Colony

20. Pratap Khand, Jhilmil Colony

21. B1/2 block in Paschim Vihar

22. Bengali Market

23. Nizamuddin Basti

24. Nizamuddin Dargah

25. Shastri Market in JJ Cluster of South Moti Bagh

26. Area of Street/Gali No. 18 to 22 of Zakir Nagar and nearby area of Abu Bakar Masjid of Zakir Nagar(core) rest of Zakir Nagar as Buffer Zone

27. E Pocket, GTB Enclave, Delhi

28. Sadar Bazar, Central District

29. Nabi Karim, Central District

30. G-174, Capital Greens, DLF, Motinagar, Delhi 110015

31. South West Delhi Gali number 5

32. South West Delhi 5A

33. South West Delhi H-2A Block

34. South West Delhi Bengali Colony

35. South West Delhi Mahavir Enclave

36. South East Delhi House number 811 to 829

37. South East Delhi House number 842 to 835 –

38.Khadda Colony

39. Jaitpur

40. Extension

41. Part II, Delhi

42. Gali number 16

43. Kachhi Colony in Madanpur Khadar

44. Balaji Apartment, Sant Nagar, Burari

45. Area of A-1B/75 A Krishna Apartment, Paschim

46. Area of A-280 JJ Colony, Madipur

47. Area of 36/4, East Patel Nagar

48. Shop No J-4/49, Khirki Extension in Khirki Village

49. Pandit and Jain Mohallas in Chirag Dilli.

50. Gali No. 1, 2 and 3 of D-block in Sangam Vihar

51.Entire area starting from House No. G-54 to F-107

52. Entire gali starting from House No. CN-854 to 137 in Chhuriya Mohalla in Tughlakabad village

53. Bara Hindu Rao & Nawab Ganj areas

54. C-2 Block in Janakpuri in South West district

55. House No. 62, Gali No. 4, B-Block, Shastri Park.

56. 1100 area gali (House No. 1181-1200), 1200 area gali (House No. 1238 to 1268), 1300 area gali (House No. 1306 to 1331), H-3 Block, Jhangirpuri

What are containment zones?

The Ministry of Health defines COVID-19 containment zones as the area where a number of positive cases of coronavirus are found. Delhi had three hotspots all of which turned into containment zones as the disease spread rapidly within the community.

“The cluster containment strategy would be to contain the disease within a defined geographic area by detecting cases in the nascent stage, breaking the chain of transmission and preventing its spread to new areas. This would include geographic quarantine, social distancing measures, enhanced active surveillance, testing all suspected cases, isolation of cases, quarantine of contacts and risk communication to create awareness among the public on preventive public health measures,” said the Ministry of Health.

The difference between a hotspot and a containment zone is that the former are not seized but largely monitored for suspected cases. However, when a place is declared as containment zones, the areas are completely sealed, and no outdoor or indoor movements are allowed until permitted by the authorities.

Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz responsible for most cases

Delhi’s Nizamuddin emerged as a hotspot after nearly 1,800 people had assembled at the Markaz building there for a religious congregation earlier in March.

“Most of the cases came from Tablighis Jammat from their mosque in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin, with some of them related to or came into contact with them,” said Health official.

According to the Delhi Health Department, among the total 576 cases, 333 cases are from the Nizamuddin Markaz, with four new cases in the last 24 hours getting reported from there.

The positive cases in Delhi have increased dramatically since people were evacuated last week from the Markaz building in Nizamuddin area where over 2,000 people from different parts of the world and country had assembled for a Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation.

Saudi Arabia returned women infected the whole Dilshad Garden locality

The northeast Delhi area Dilshad Garden came in limelight when a woman who travelled from Saudi Arabia tested positive for coronavirus. She also infected her daughter along with two other relatives in Jahangirpuri.

And when that wasn’t it, she also came in contact with a ‘mohalla’ clinic doctor in Maujpur, who was detected positive and believed to have come in contact with hundreds of others.

South Moti Bagh slum declared containment zone after sanitisation worker tested positive

The South Moti Bagh slum in South Delhi turned into another containment zone after a sanitation worker at AIIMS tested positive. The fear of coronavirus spread like wildfire in the densely populated area, and authorities decided to act fast.

The area has five routes that lead to the slum, and all entry and exit of vehicles along with pedestrians at four routes have been fully locked.

The authorities have left only one route open for movement of sanitisation workers who disinfect the area at least thrice every day.

Around 1,000 families live in South Moti Bagh’s slum area. And its “buffer zone” includes another slum, a Gurudwara, a temple, a 24x7 petrol pump and a market.

Delhi government to conduct rapid testing

The Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendra Jain declared that in the upcoming days more random sampling would be done in areas which have a higher number of cases.

“We have ordered one lakh rapid testing kits which produce results in 10-15 minutes. These kits will be first used in the two hotspot zones of Dilshad Garden and Nizamuddin. Currently, screening is on in Nizamuddin. As soon as the kits come we will begin testing also”, said the minister.

India, which has 5,745 cases in all, is trying hard to stop the epidemic from spreading from Stage 2 to Stage 3 which is when community spread will be rampant. As of now, the government is hoping to arrest the disease within these hotspots and ensure unabated spreading does not occur. It is also considering extending the 21 day lockdown which is expected to end on April 14.


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