Coronavirus: 146 Mumbai localities declared containment areas, residents not allowed to step out – India Today

In Maharashtra’s Mumbai, 146 localities have bee declared as containment areas and residents are to be compulsorily confined in homes.

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday cancelled authorisation of a private laboratory as a certified testing centre for Covid-19 after the state government found discrepancies in laboratory’s report.

State health minister Rajesh Tope said the specific laboratory’s testing method was found inaccurate.

“Normally, the government laboratories verify the test reports submitted by private laboratories. In this particular case, certain positive results were found negative and vice versa after the verification. We have cancelled the laboratory’s authorisation,” Rajesh Tope said.

Rajesh Tope said the state government asked the private laboratories to conduct the tests only if they have test kits available with them.

With this development, the number of authorised private laboratories have come down to 13 in Mumbai.

There are five government and seven private authorised laboratories in Maharashtra. There are 10 government and 13 private laboratories outside Mumbai.

The number of positive cases was 322 on Wednesday.

Rajesh Tope visited the Covid-19 control room set up at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday.

Rajesh Tope said 146 localities in Mumbai have been earmarked as ‘containment areas’ where the residents are not allowed to step out after several Covid-19 positive patients were found there.

“Mumbai has maximum number of positive patients at 162. Fortunately, all of them have been quarantined so there is no danger of spread of the virus,” Rajesh Tope said.

The BMC officials admitted eight residents of Worli Koli Wada to quarantine wards after they were found positive.

The BMC has started Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping of the areas where the positive patients were found.

The maps and statistics of the areas where maximum patients will be found will be uploaded on the BMC website.

Rajesh Tope said the number of high risk contacts in Maharashtra has reached to 5,343. “They had come in close contact of the positive patients. All of them have been quarantined. Also, we are keeping a close watch through CCTV cameras on the contained areas.”

Rajesh Tope said there is no community spread in the state. “Every positive patient in the state has either travel history or came in close contact with positive patients.”

Rajesh Tope said the state government might make it mandatory to give a declaration whether they had attended any mass gatherings.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has warned that the Maharashtra government will take stern actions against those who defy the lockdown.

“We have been saying since beginning that the people should avoid crowding. They should learn a lesson from the US and Italy. If they continue to throng the streets, we will take stern action,” Ajit Pawar said.