New Delhi identifies COVID-19 containment zones, areas will face stricter restrictions

While a few zones were notified Wednesday, in many cases containment orders were made as early as March 31, and some in the intervening period.

The containment zones are:

1. Entire effected street near Gandhi Pqrk, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi
2. Entire effected street of Gali No 6 , L 1 Sangam Vihar, New Delhi.
3. Shahajahanabad society, plot no 1, Sector 11, Dwarka.
4. Dinpur Village
5. Markaz Masjid and Nizamuddin Basti
6. Nizamuddin West (G and D block) areas.
7. B Block Jhangirpuri.
8. H. No 141 to H. No 180, Gali no. 14, Kalyanpuri Delhi
9. Mansara Appartments , Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi
10. 3 Galis of Khichirpur including Gali containing H. No. 5/387 Khichirpur Delhi
11. Gali No 9, Pandav Nagar , Delhi 110092.
12. VarDhaman Appartments , Mayur Vihar, Phase I , Extension, Delhi
13. Mayurdhwaj Appartments , I P Extension, Patparganj, Delhi
14. Gali no. 4, from H. No. J- 3/115 ( Nagar Dairy) to H. No. J- 3/108( towards Anar wali Masjid Chowk), Kishan Kunj Extension, Delhi
15. Gali No. 4, from H. No J- 3/101 to H. No. J – 3/107 Krishan Kunj Extension Delhi.
16. Gali No. 5, A Block ( From H No. A- 176 to A-189), WestVinod NagarDelhi 110092.
17. J & K , L and H pockets Dilshad Garden
18. G, H, J, Blocks old Seemapuri
19. F- 70 to 90 block Dilshad Colony
20. Pratap khand , Jhilmil Colony.

21. Bengali market.
22. South Moti Bagh slum

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told reporters: “Many cases were reported from Sadar area, so it is being contained and sealed. There are 20 such places in Delhi where people are not allowed to come out of their lanes or apartments and people from outside are also not allowed to go in.”

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The South district administration has issued two orders notifying a street in Malviya Nagar’s Hauz Rani neighbourhood and a lane in Sangam Vihar as containment zones. In both areas, confirmed COVID-19 patients were found, leading to the orders under the Delhi Epidemic Diseases Regulations and the Disaster Management Act.

“In case of the Hauz Rani patient, we are still trying to ascertain where he contracted the virus from. His family said he was not at the Markaz Nizamuddin gathering and rarely stepped out. However, we have managed to trace all those he came in touch with. There are around 10-12 families in that lane,” said DM (South) BM Mishra. Later in the evening, a lane in Sangam Vihar was also declared a containment zone.

In East Delhi, there are nine containment zones scattered across Mayur Vihar and Preet Vihar sub-divisions. The zones include a lane in Kalyanpuri, a housing society in Vasundhara Enclave, three lanes in Khichripur, one lane in Pandav Nagar, one lane in Preet Vihar and an apartment in Mayur Vihar, among others.

“At all such containment zones, we have put up canopies at the outer boundaries where teams of the administration are always present. WhatsApp groups have been created for coordination and nodal officers appointed. For instance, an officer of the Department of Weights and Measures is in charge of the grocery requirements of residents, while someone from the Drugs Control Department is providing medicines as and when required. A population between 6,000-7,000 is under such restrictions in East Delhi,” said DM (East Delhi) Arun Mishra.

DM (Central) Nidhi Shrivastava said the local administration will declare the Sadar Bazar area a containment zone. “The plan is under process. It will be done most likely by tomorrow,” she said. A resident of Sadar Bazar had died of the disease on Tuesday.

DM (New Delhi) Tanvi Garg said there are no containment zones in the district as of now. The administration carried out extensive surveys in areas, including a slum colony in Moti Bagh, and Babar Road near Bengali Market, and concluded there was no need to notify any containment zone as of now.

“There are no containment zones falling under New Delhi district as of now. We have carried out multiple surveys in areas where confirmed cases were found. So far, we have not found people with influenza-like illnesses. I have personally visited such areas. For instance, after a sanitation worker, who is a resident of a colony in Moti Bagh, was found positive, we had enhanced surveillance in that area. To enable the survey, checkpoints were created. We surveyed around 865 people. There was extended vigil. But there has been no cluster containment. At Babar Road, after three members of a family tested positive, we carried out a survey encompassing around 300 families across the area. The family members of that person have been strictly advised to stay indoors and a system has been worked out to supply groceries and essentials to their doorstep,” said Garg.

However, in the evening, the Bengali Market and Babar Road areas were declared a containment zone after Garg’s team found two workers with illnesses. Moreover, 35 persons were found residing at the Bengali Pastry Shop within a small confined space in “highly unhygeinic conditions”.

Delhi Police have also been directed by the administration to lodge a case against the owner of the shop. The south Moti Bagh slum has also been declared a containment area.

There are 11 revenue districts in Delhi. Nizamuddin, which falls under the Southeast district, and Dilshad Garden areas have already been declared hotspots by the Delhi government, where rapid antibody tests will be carried out at a mass scale as recommended by the ICMR.