22 containment zones created in Purnia district

PURNIA: District magistrate (DM) Rahul Kumar on Wednesday flagged off 14 SUVs fitted with public address system for creating awareness among people about the coronavirus and ways to prevent its spread.
He urged the people not to lower guard as the virus is more virulent in the second wave. The number of people testing positive for the virus has increased in the past 2-3 days as the district had 103 active cases till Tuesday, he said.
“We have created 22 containment zones in the district and marked 15 areas as micro containment zones. In the micro containment zones, infected persons will be asked to stay at home,” the DM said.
The pattern of coronavirus has changed. “Earlier, we used to see only one person in a family infected. But, the virus behaviour is changing and we see several members of a family carrying the virus. It has become more infectious,” he said.
“Apart from emphasising on contract tracing, paramedics and nursing staff have been deployed at transit points at bus stands and railway stations with Covid-19 rapid antigen kits. We ask people to stand in a queue for test. Thereafter, they are sent to the Covid care centre in a vehicle arranged for them,” said the DM.
About the ongoing vaccination, the DM said, “Of the 1,32,072 vaccinations, at least 1,18,741 received their first dose while the rest 13,331 were given the second dose. The speed of giving jabs to the people picked up pace on Tuesday and we will scale it up further. Routine immunisation for children will not be hampered due to testing and vaccination process for the Covid-19,” he added.
Civil surgeon (CS) Dr S K Verma said, “Around 14 SUVs fitted with loudspeakers will move across the district to create awareness among people against the Covid-19. People will also be convinced about the need to wear masks properly, maintain a distance of 6ft from others outside home, wash hands with soap or use of sanitiser. Though, our main purpose is to urge people to go for Covid-19 testing and vaccination.”