Spreading clusters spawn more containment zones in Bengaluru

Containment zones in the city are multiplying due to clusters erupting in nearly all sites of Covid-19 infection, officials said.

In a span of five days, the number of containment zones increased by 24, from 136 to 160, with the total number of positive people in containment zones increasing from 548 on August 3 to 648 by August 8.

The total households coming under the ambit of containment zones also increased from 3,084 to 5,860, according to data provided by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Majority of the households coming under containment zones were in Bommanahalli (2,235).

D Randeep, BBMP’s Special Commissioner (Health), said the spike in certain zones should not come as a surprise as the reproduction number of the virus (R0) had increased in the state to beyond 1. “If case numbers have shown an increase, it is because the scale of testing is also rising,” Randeep added.

He explained that nearly every case that is being found is also resulting in the discovery of a cluster of cases associated with the initial case. “The problem is widespread in apartments. We believe that the infectious nature of the Delta variant is playing a role in these infections... 85% of genome samples are turning out to be Delta cases,” he said.

In the three zones with the highest number of containment zones: Bommanahalli, East and Mahadevapura, apartments comprised 66.6%, 48.5% and 61.9% of all containment zones, respectively. In total, 79 out of 160 containment zones were at apartments.

Individual homes came in next, numbering 70, followed by eight hostels or quarters and one school — the Armed Police Training School in Yelahanka. The rest were in miscellaneous locations such as AFS Jalahalli and a coaching centre (both in Yelahanka).

Not worried, says BBMP chief

BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said he was not concerned by the increased number of containment zones.

“We equate our containment zones to watchtowers. It is better to have more containment zones, lest we miss a cluster,” he said.

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