People's movement from containment zones won't be stopped, says Noida DM
There shall be no sealing or stopping of movement of people in areas declared as containment zones in Gautam Buddh Nagar, officials said on Monday but urged residents to exercise restraint and follow COVID-19 protocols. District Magistrate Suhas LY made the appeal in the wake of the Uttar Pradesh government redefining the range of containment zones for medical surveillance through an order issued on Saturday amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the state once again.
According to the order, an area of 25 metre radius from the spot of the COVID-19 case would be considered a containment zone and it would increase to 50 metres if there are two or more cases.
For multi-storey buildings, a single case of COVID-19 would lead to the particular floor being declared as a containment zone while the whole building or tower would be declared a containment zone if there are two or more cases.
The containment zone tag would be removed only after 14 days if no other new case comes up there, according to the government order.
In the wake of the order, the DM on Monday clarified that the containment zones are redefined (with wide perimeter) for the purposes of "medical surveillance activity".
"In those areas, medical teams shall track contacts of COVID-19 cases and symptomatic persons for the purposes of testing and isolation (of positive cases), so that chain of infection is broken," he said.
"There shall be no sealing or stopping of movement of persons. However, it is advised to the residents living in those containment zones/areas to exercise self-restraint and to follow all precautionary measures of COVID-19 protocol," he added.
As of Monday, Gautam Buddh Nagar had 544 active cases of COVID-19 and a death toll of 92 due to the pandemic, according to official figures.
(With PTI inputs)
