212 virus containment clusters marked in Telangana

As part of measures to combat COVID-19, as many as 212 containment clusters in different areas of Telangana have been marked. About 130 clusters or red zones covering 3.37 lakh households have already been set up.

Hyderabad: A total of 212 areas across Telangana covering over 4.50 lakh households have been marked as containment clusters or red zones, an exercise to prevent coronavirus spread, an official said on Friday.

The cluster containment strategy would be to contain the disease within a defined geographic area by early detection of cases, breaking the chain of transmission and thus preventing its spread to new areas, the official of the health department said.

As of today (April 10), we have identified 212 containment clusters in the state. We have already set up 130 clusters or red zones covering 3.37 lakh households.

The remaining clusters covering 1.17 lakh households will be done in a day or two," the official said. According to him, as many as 3,067 teams would be engaged in enforcing geographical quarantine, surveillance, testing suspected cases, quarantine of contacts and isolation of cases.

All the essential commodities such as milk, vegetables, and medicines would be delivered at the doorstep of the households by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and police personnel.

The cluster containment strategy would "include geographic quarantine, social distancing measures, enhanced active surveillance, testing all suspected cases, isolation of cases, quarantine of contacts and risk communication to create awareness among the public on preventive public health measures", a health ministry document had earlier said.

GHMC has set up 12 containment clusters to combat COVID-19 spread, GHMC commissioner D S Lokesh Kumar had said in a press release on Thursday. He said as per the instructions of the government, GHMC officials and staff are working in coordination with Police, Revenue, Health department personnel.

The civic body chief had said as many as 89 coronavirus positive cases were registered in these clusters. And special attention is given to sanitation and spraying of disinfectant in these clusters. Besides, a team consisting of health and GHMC officials are going to each and every household to identify those who are symptomatic and getting them tested.

In these identified clusters, public movements are monitored and barricading is done to keep a check on public movement, Lokesh Kumar said.

PTI Report