BBMP starts Covid-19 testing in factories as number of infected workers increase

The Bommanahalli Zone is carrying out a concerted testing programme within factories in its 16 wards after an assessment revealed that a large number of factory workers are testing positive for the disease.

According to an order issued by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), daily reports being collated by Bommanahalli Zone has discovered that garment factory workers are among the worst hit.

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“[They] show a positivity rate of 21% while that of Bengaluru City, the positivity rate has been 13%, and there is a marked increase among workers in factories,” read the order, signed by Captain P Manivannan, Special Officer for the Zone.

The order, which is dated September 12, went to warn that with the factories employing workers in large numbers in limited space that there is “a serious danger of Covid-19 spreading to all workers in a short time” and endangering the city itself.

The programme has large ground to cover. According to the 2016-17 information from the State Pollution Control Board there are 901 large industries, 50 medium and 1,679 small industries in the zone.

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The move is said to have triggered resistance from some workers. Bhargav (name changed), who is employed at a robotics firm in Vasanthapura, described the indiscriminate testing as a violation of privacy.

However, Captain Mannivanan told DH that: “If they do not cooperate, the Labour Department will take action.”

Data from the BBMP War Room and the State COVID War Room shows that while Bommanahalli Zone does not have the largest collection of overall cases (comprising only 13% of citywide totals), it is among the peripheral zones which has seen some of the largest increases in cases since Unlock 4.0.

According to the BBMP, the zone reports an average of 350 new cases per day.

Data from Bommanahalli Zone reveals that the top five worst-hit wards since September 1 are Uttarahalli (626 cases), Bommanahalli (513 cases), Begur (508 cases), Singasandra (419 cases) and Vasanthapura (416 cases).