Bengaluru sees biggest single-day jump in number of containment zones

The number of containment zones in Bengaluru rose to 16 on Monday, which BBMP officials said is the biggest single-day spike since September.

Since December 31, the city had 59 new containment areas, while Mahadevapura overtook Bommanahalli as the zone with most containment areas. Mahadevapura’s tally stood at 44 containment zones on Monday with nine new additions.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) data revealed that 36 out of those 44 in Mahadevapura are apartment buildings. The zone is also topping the chart in terms of fresh cases with 204 reported on Monday. Even as the city recorded 1,041 cases on Monday, none of the other zones crossed the 200-mark.

Five of the top 10 wards reporting maximum cases are also in Mahadevapura, which also has the top three wards with the most cases in the city: Bellandur with 26 cases, Doddanekundi with 11, and Hagadur with 10.

Also read: Bengaluru's Covid positivity rate crosses 2% for first time in 7 months

BBMP officials attributed the spike in the zone to large number of travellers who reside in apartments. “We have seen many of them travelling frequently and they end up infecting their families causing an increase in cases and formation of containment zones,” said Dr Trilok Chandra, BBMP Special Commissioner (Health).

Zonal officials pointed to the large areas the wards cover in Mahadevapura. “These are big wards with higher population. Several are migrant workers and IT employees who go on international travel,” said Dr Surendra Kumar, BBMP health officer, Mahadevapura.

Officials also said apartments in the area have transformed into hotspots. “Most of the containment zones are seen in the apartment complexes in Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli zones,” a senior BBMP official said.

BBMP data revealed that 61 per cent of the 142 containment zones active on Monday were in apartments, while 15 of the new containment zones found on Monday were also in apartment complexes.

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