The UT of Chandigarh was sitting pretty till April 24 with a total of 27 coronavirus cases among them only 12 being active cases, but a 30-year old Covid-19 infected person from densely populated Bapu Dham colony who was tested positive late night on April 24 has now triggered a coronavirus scare in the city.
Chandigarh, declared as the Covid-19 (coronavirus) hotspot by the Central Government, witnessed further decline in doubling rate of positive cases on Wednesday. The doubling rate of coronavirus cases in the city stood at 5.34 days, as against the national average of 11.3 days.
The Bapu Dham positive patient, who is a ward boy at Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector -32 has infected at least 24 others and still counting, as the reports of infected people continued to pour in till late Wednesday night.
The Bapu Dham resident defied curfew orders and hosted a party to celebrate his wedding anniversary, which was attended by more than 60 people in his triple-storey building in Bapu Dham Colony-26, which has already been declared as “affected pocket” and more than 300 families are put under home quarantine.
The GMCH-32 staff members who came in his contact are also placed under isolation as a precautionary measure.
While plans were underway to allow certain relaxations in the city post May 3, it now seems unlikely for UT Administration to allow any major relaxation that could lead to people’s movement across the city and risk the spread of infection.
Bapu Dham, the current epicenter of coronavirus outbreak is already put under constant vigil with installation of 14 CCTVs and deployment of police, paramilitary force, NGOs to ensure social distancing and compliance of curfew orders. 26 CCTVs have been installed in Sector 30-B, another affected area in the city.
UT Home-cum-Health Secretary Arun Kumar Gupta told The Pioneer, “Since there is a surge of positive cases in Bapu Dham colony and Sector 30 B, we have intensified testing of symptomatic residents in these areas.” 23 cases have been reported from Bapu Dhaam colony while 15 from Sector 30 B till evening, he said.
On considering random testing for coronavirus, he said, “There is no need to conduct random testing. We are holding screening of people in affected areas and testing symptomatic cases and other high-risk contacts as per the protocol.
