Lucknow: No barricading around homes of Covid patients, no ration kits for those in isolation

LUCKNOW: Despite the district administration’s directions to do so, there is no barricading around the houses of many Covid-19 patients. Besides, no ration kits have been provided to these patients in home isolation.
According to the directions, Lucknow Municipal Corporation had to barricade these spots to make them a micro-containment zone and distribute ration.
However, in a reality check, TOI approached over two dozen patients and their families isolated at home. Most said that neither was any type of barricading done outside their houses, nor were posters pasted declaring the area a micro-containment zone.
People said that health staff had come for contact tracing and delivered medical kits, but they have not received ration kits.
Ashiana resident Vijaya Pandey (65), who lives with his wife, tested positive on January 19.
“The health department contacted me and delivered a medical kit a day after the test report arrived, but the house has not been barricaded. We are arranging essentials on our own as the administration has not provided ration kits as promised,” he said.
Another Ashiana resident, Sanjay Mathur (62), who tested positive last week, said that his family members were tested during the contact tracing drive, but nobody from LMC or district administration came to barricade or provide ration kits.
“Our neighbours are helping us with essentials, including medicines. Sanitization of the area has also not been done,” he said.
“I got calls from the health department regularly to inquire about my well-being until I tested negative, but we had to depend on neighbours and relatives for delivery of essentials and ration as no help came from the administration,” said Tarun Jaiswal of Aliganj.
Chief medical officer Dr Manoj Agarwal said LMC has been tasked to deliver ration kits and barricade.
Additional municipal commissioner Abhay Panday said, “Since the number of people testing positive has increased manifold in the past two weeks, the practice of barricading with wood was halted because that causes inconvenience to people. Instead, we are now separating containment zones by surrounding them with specialtapes.”
“Houses of more than 90% of the patients are being turned into micro-containment zones within 24 hours of being informed by the health department. If a patient is complaining, it could be an isolated case,” he added.
Regarding ration kits, he said they are being delivered to those who are either poor or live alone or on demand.
(With inputs from Godhooli Sharma, Ayushi Mishra, Vertika Sonakia & Simran Saxena)