Covid: Micro-containment zones in Bengaluru double in just two weeks

After three months of relative normalcy, micro-containment zones in the city have mushroomed to more than a hundred, prompting the BBMP to plan stringent measures.

While the city had 56 containment zones on December 2, the numbers now surged to 102, nearly a 90 per cent jump. The last occasion a surge of this kind happened was in September. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials cited improved surveillance and testing as reasons for the surge.

“We’ve scaled up testing since the detection of the Omicron variant. We recently instructed RWAs, traders, doctors and hospitals to keep a check on symptomatic visitors/patients and recommend them for testing,” said BBMP Special Commissioner (Health) Dr K V Thrilok Chandra.

A senior official said containment measures were relaxed as the city was returning to normalcy. “The number of cases was under control and officials put down their guard. The numbers are up since we’re detecting and declaring containment zones,” the official said.

Also Read | Four held in Karnataka for providing fake RT-PCR report to Covid positive South African

Chandra said increasing containment zones were a sign that people were violating Covid norms. “Since the number of cases isn’t increasing, the clusters indicate people are failing to observe covid appropriate behaviour in closed spaces. So most clusters are formed within families,” he said.

Data revealed that 53 out of 102 containment zones are in apartments. At 31, Bommanahalli Zone has the maximum number of containment areas. “Bommanahalli shares the border with Tamil Nadu. We see more interstate and international travels,” a zonal official reasoned.

Chandra said the civic body had warned RWAs of stringent measures if multiple containment zones were discovered in a single apartment or in a road.

Surge in cases

BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta warned that the city could witness a surge in Covid cases from the current 150-200 a day. “Experts in the UK have predicted that Omicron would replace the Delta variant. Though the numbers are low, we expect a surge in the coming days and have begun preparations,” Gupta said, adding that the city has only 300 hospital admissions as of Wednesday.

“We’ve reserved 3,000 beds for Covid patients and are constantly monitoring the number of patients. We’ll increase the number of reserved beds if the need arises,” he added. He also hinted at institutional quarantine for people returning from high-risk countries. “Those testing negative could be quarantined. We’ll give the details soon,” he said, adding early detection was key.