At the time when the Chandigarh Administration is busy patting its own back for successfully containing the spread of COVID-19 in Bapu Dham colony in Sector 26 here, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has pointed out lapses in Administration’s strategy for containing the virus.
In a report submitted by WHO to the UT Administration, major lapses related to demarcation of containment zone, screening, sampling, data analysis have been pointed out in Bapu Dham colony (BDC), which was designated as containment zone in the city.
The WHO consultant Dr Srinivasan Selvamani presented Bapu Dham epidemiological study to Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore on Wednesday.
Of the total number of 978 infections reported in the city, more than 270 positive cases have been reported from BDC. Till mid-June, BDC had remained a COVID-19 hotspot in the city while fresh cases are now again reported from the colony during this month.
The BDC in Sector 26, with a total of 20 pockets is a densely populated colony with EWS flats and residences, which are housing a minimum of 6-8 members per household. The colony has a total population of around 60000 people.
The perimeter control was put in place in the month of April in all 20 pockets and was removed gradually by the month of July.The WHO report stated, “The demarcation of containment zone and buffer zone in BDC was not done as per the guidelines of Government of India hence there was no delineation of activities conducted in these zones.Daily screening of population (part or complete) was not conducted to detect positive cases and no provision for on-site sampling was made by the UT Administration, the report stated.Stating that there was no data analysis for action and feedback, the report said that the Administration did not carry out stratification of data of the positive cases and contacts for better understanding of the chain of transmission and guiding decision.
With fresh cases being reported from the BDC over the past two weeks, the WHO stated, “As pockets of Bapu Dham continue to open and life returns to normal, the threat of reemergence continues as globally, nationally and in Chandigarh also, the cases continue to rise.”
In such scenario, surveillance will play an important role in identifying the early re-emergence of cases in the community. Since the active house to house screening is not a feasible option, there is a need to strengthen passive surveillance and reporting, the WHO has recommended.
Using the polio eradication experience, all local practitioners of Bapu Dham colony should be sensitized and motivated to report all cases of ILI visiting their facilities. These cases should be mapped and any clustering should be a trigger for testing and further management. In this manner, we will be able to detect an ongoing transmission and mount response promptly, the report further said.
Emphasizing the need of mapping vulnerable population like senior citizens and those with co-morbid conditions, the WHO has said that mapping and daily surveillance can be done using the community volunteers and through the health department.
Meanwhile, the WHO report has also appreciated the efforts of the administration for aggressive contact tracing and quarantine of contacts.
During the meeting with UT Administrator Badnore, Dr Srinivasan Selvamani praised the Deputy Commissioner for involving volunteers to do counseling in BDC and innovation of mobile ATM vans and supply of medicines through Rogi Kalayan Samiti.