4.5k COVID-19 containment zones in Delhi amid spike in cases

New Delhi: The number of containment zones have been increased to over 4,550 in Delhi amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in the national capital. The maximum containment zones are 743 in southwest district and the lowest 148 in northeast district.

Six districts out of the total 11 have more than 400 COVID-19 containment zones each- 743 (southwest), 705 (south), 587 (west), 543 (southeast), 490 (central Delhi) and 445 (northwest), according to official data.

Delhi has witnessed a surge in coronavirus cases since October 28, when the daily rise breached the 5,000-mark for the first time, and it crossed the 8,000-mark on November 11.

On Wednesday, the infection tally in Delhi rose to over 5 lakh with 7,486 fresh cases reported, while 131 new fatalities, the highest single-day death count till date, took the toll to 7,943.

In a containment zone summary as on November 19, the revenue department said there were 4,560 such zones in the city.

While New Delhi and Shahdara districts have 264 and 249 containment zones respectively, there are 202 such zones in north Delhi.

The department said east Delhi has 184 COVID-19 containment zones, but northeast district has only 148 zones.

Meanwhile, a door-to-door survey for identifying and testing people symptomatic for coronavirus in containment zones and densely packed areas of the city commenced on Friday.

The survey will be completed within five days and will cover over 57 lakh people in containment zones, dense areas and identified clusters of virus transmission, officials said.

As many as 7,546 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported on Thursday, taking the infection tally to over 5.1 lakh while 98 more fatalities pushed the toll to 8,041.

On Thursday, the AAP government announced sweeping measures including a steep Rs 2,000 fine for not wearing masks, reservation of 80 per cent ICU beds in private hospitals, doubling testing centres in every district and postponement of non-critical surgeries at health facilities.

The Union Health Ministry on Thursday said Delhi accounted for 22.39 per cent of the fatalities reported across the country in a span of 24 hours by recording 131 deaths on Wednesday and became the largest contributor to the single-day COVID-19 deaths in India.