Udaipur declared containment zone as largest single day positive of 63 takes COVID count to 85

CMHO said that that the new patients were mostly asymptomatic and recovery will be sooner than expected. Contact tracing is getting more cumbersome, though

By UdaipurTimes Team May 9, 2020, 01:27 IST

57 new positives are from Kanji ka Hata alone

A late night order from the District Magistrates office in Udaipur has declared Udaipur as a containment zone.

This order comes after Udaipur saw an explosion in the number of positive cases on 8 May. 63 new positive cases yesterday took the total positive count of Udaipur to 85. Of the 85 cases, 69 are a result of the infected Home Guard at Kanji ka Hata. In fact, 54 of the 63 cases on 8 May came from Kanji ka Hata.

57 new positive samples were identified in Kanji ka Hata alone, from the contact tracing of the Home Guard who was found positive late night on Wednesday. 6 close contacts tested positive on Thursday and Friday witnessed an unimaginable 63 cases, of which 57 were from Kanji ka Hata, 1 from Nehru Bazar, 1 from Haridas ji Ki Magri, 1 from Dewali, at the base of Neemuchmata, 2 – a couple from Hiran Magri and 1 from Bhupalpura. This information has been confirmed by the CMHO, Dr Dinesh Kharade.

Misinformation later in the evening had counted second round positive cases and the figure moved from 80 to 85, which was then again confirmed to be 79. The six additional cases were confirmed towards midnight.

Further, the brother of the home guard also clarified that rumor of their brother coming in from Indore and causing this outbreak was unfounded as the person had arrived from Indore 5 months ago.

The CMHO additionally said that the patients are mostly in the 30-50 yr age bracket. Most of them are asymptomatic. It is expected that they will recover soon.

With 5 of the city police stations already under curfew, the administration decided to clamp down with a containment order for the entire city, rather than establishing curfew in additional areas. With 63 cases from one area (under Surajpol Police station), the community spread fear is not yet apparent, said the Superintendent of Police, Kailash Bishnoi. However, declaring Udaipur a complete containment zone was probably a better option than declaring curfew in other areas.

As per the order, Udaipur, being treated as a containment zone from 12pm on 9 May, will take the status back to what existed in Lockdown phase 2. This means that permissions and prohibitions that were in place till 3 May will apply. This revert, will affect all relief allowed from 4 May, with the exception of industrial areas, which will be allowed to operate as per the 3 May order (for Lockdown 3).

The order substantially means, that while the restrictions in curfew zones will be strictly implemented, liquor shops will shut down, free vehicle movement will be disallowed and only essential service passes issued before 3 May will be valid. This order has been confirmed by the Public Relations Officer of the Udaipur administration. What this order means for offices and establishments is also not clear. However, if the 4 May to 17 May relief has been revoked, offices will not be allowed to function, stationery shops and other permitted shops will NOT BE ALLOWED to open.