With the neighboring district of Mohali reporting highest number of positive Coronavirus cases in Punjab, the Chandigarh Administration has swung into action to screen people, entering the city from the neighboring states.
A plan has been prepared to begin thermal screening and install sanitization channel, spraying disinfectant to sanitize Chandigarh’s borders areas with Mohali especially. The Administration has also decided to limit the number of passes to be issued to neighboring districts for entry into the city.
Till Thursday evening, Mohali has reported 37 positive Coronavirus cases, highest in Punjab as well as the tricity. Jawaharpur, a village near Dera Bassi town on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway, accounts for 22 of the 37 cases in Mohali district, making it Punjab’s COVID-19 hotspot.
On the other hand, Chandigarh has so far reported 18 positive Coronavirus cases, out of which seven have already recovered. No fresh positive case of Coronavirus has been reported in the city in the past seven days and no Coronavirus hotspots have so far been identified in the city.
As a precautionary measure, 1508 people have been put in home quarantine, out of which 902 have completed the quarantine period till Thursday evening.
In neighboring Panchkula district of Haryana, four positive COVID-19 cases have been reported so far.
While curfew has been imposed in Punjab and Chandigarh, lockdown was imposed in Haryana to combat the spread of Coronavirus.
Only a day before, Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore had expressed concern over surge in number of positive COVID-19 cases in Mohali and asked the concerned Deputy Commissioner to update UT Administration about all new developments besides starting joint containment operations in Dera Bassi.
An employee of Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, who is a resident of Dera Bassi was also tested positive for Coronavirus following which the Administration had begun contact tracing on Wednesday and put a large number of people under home quarantine in areas like Dhanas, Khuda Alisher and Burail.
UT Adviser Manoj Parida said that with the surge in number of Coronavirus positive cases in neighboring district of Mohali, installation of sanitization tunnel, thermal screening at border areas is being planned.
Apart from this, sanitization channels are planned to be installed at police headquarters, office of Deputy Commissioner, UT Secretariat, office of Municipal Corporation, two hospitals including GMCH-32 and GMSH-16 in the city, he added.
A sanitization tunnel was set up at the vegetable and fruit market (Mandi) in Sector 26 on Wednesday. It is a comprehensive “Fight COVID station” having facilities of thermal screening by taking temperature, pedestal operated handwash and soap dispenser, mist spray of sodium hypochlorite solution and hand drier.
STEPS BEING TAKEN