Delhi sees nearly 70% jump in Covid containment zones since Jun 17

In order to contain the spread of infection, micro-containment zones with even one or two houses are being made, they said.Normally, an area is marked a containment zone where three or more COVID-19 cases are detected.

With a rise in Covid cases, the city's containment zones have increased from 190 on June 17 to 322 on June 24, an increase of about 70 percent, according to official data.

Most of the cases are being reported from family or neighborhood clusters, officials said. To contain the spread of infection, micro-containment zones with even one or two houses are being made, they said.

Normally, an area is marked as a containment zone where three or more COVID-19 cases are detected. But it is a dynamic exercise, conducted by district authorities in a need-based manner, they said.

The Delhi Epidemic Disease COVID-19 Regulation, 2020, authorizes district magistrates to seal off a geographical area, ban entry and exit of the population from the containment zone, and take any measures directed by the health department to prevent the spread of the disease.

Delhi has been witnessing a spike in coronavirus cases since June 14 when the cases breached the 1000-mark.

Delhi logged 1,118 new cases on June 14, with a positivity rate of 6.50 percent and two fatalities.

Since then, the national capital has been logging more than 1,000 cases every day barring Wednesday when it logged 928 single-day infections.

Delhi recorded 1,447 new Covid cases and one more death on Friday, while the positivity rate dropped to 5.98 percent, according to data shared by the health department here.

According to officials, the spike in coronavirus cases is due to the lax attitude of the people in following Covid-appropriate behavior. The strategy focuses on containing the spread of infection.

''Currently, even if there are two cases in a family or adjacent households, they are designated as a containment zone. The intention is to contain the spread of infection as Omicron is highly transmissible," said an official.