Two adjacent municipal wards of Bangalore were on Friday sealed for 14 days after three Covid-19 cases were reported in the densely populated area.
Bapuji Nagar and Padarayanapura, off the Bangalore-Mysore road, will have only one exit and entry point, to be used only by designated government officials.
While all three patients had travelled to Delhi and Ajmer, it is not clear if they were part of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area in mid-March.
B.H. Anil Kumar, the commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (the city corporation), told reporters that the lone entry and exit would be accessible only to health officials, police, civil defence and city council officials.
“We will provide all essentials at the doorsteps of the residents. They don’t need to worry about anything,” he said.
Kumar said the family members of the Covid-19 patients and their immediate neighbours had been quarantined. The residents of the area have been ordered to stay indoors. While no shops will be open, hospitals and medicine stores will function.
“Since people were purchasing vegetables mostly from pushcarts, we are planning to supply all essentials at their doorsteps,” Kumar said.
Sources said the two wards would have a combined population of about 1.5 lakh, with more than 25,000 houses, mostly tenements for low-income groups. Located about 8km from MG Road, the area now contained is part of the busy Chamrajpet locality in central Bangalore.
Karnataka reported 10 more Covid-19 cases on Friday, taking the total to 207. This includes six deaths and 34 people who have been discharged.
Local MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan said the clampdown was essential to contain any possible spread in the area. “The three persons who tested positive had been to Nizamuddin Dargah and Ajmer Dargah. They voluntarily came forward to get tested (for the coronavirus),” the Congress lawmaker said.
“I have spoken to religious heads in the area and sought their complete cooperation to maintain this clampdown,” Khan added.
People living in the area will be checked each day for Covid-19 symptoms. Health workers will make announcements on public address systems about the precautions to be taken and the signs of illness.
Medical camps have been set up to regularly monitor the residents.
The whole area, including the houses and shops, will be disinfected to contain any spread of the infection.