In a bid to deal effectively with rapidly evolving Coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency, the Chandigarh Administration is preparing a comprehensive COVID-19 management plan.
The comprehensive plan would focus on key areas like accommodation, communication, medical equipments and facilities, requirement of healthcare workers, supply of essential food items among others.
Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore has directed the Administration to prepare the plan in view of surge of number of COVID-19 cases across the country in the past one week. UT Home-cum-Health Secretary Arun Kumar Gupta along with medical experts is preparing the COVID management plan.
Under the plan, the Administration has initially proposed three levels of accommodation for COVID-19 positive and suspected cases in the city. COVID care centre would be earmarked for people with mild symptoms of Coronavirus and proposed to be put in quarantine at Hotel Parkview, Panchayat Bhawan, Sood Bhawan among others accommodations in the city.
GMCH-32 and GMSH-16 would be designated as COVID health centres for positive Coronavirus cases with moderate symptoms. Similarly, PGIMER and Sector 48 hospital will be earmarked as exclusive COVID facility for severe positive cases.
Estimating Chandigarh’s population as 12 lakh and a peak of Coronavirus pandemic in the future, the plan is being prepared contemplating different scenarios of contingencies of COVID spreading among the denizens.
So far, 18 positive cases of Coronavirus have been reported in the city, out of which seven have already recovered till Wednesday evening. While 1446 were put in home quarantine as a precautionary measure, 900 have completed the quarantine period. No fresh positive case of Coronavirus has been reported in the city in the past six days and no Coronavirus hotspots have so far been identified in the city.
However, an employee of Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, who is a resident of Dera Bassi (Mohali) is tested positive on Wednesday, sending alarm bells ringing in the civic body even as the Administration began contact tracing by the late evening.
UT Home-cum-Health Secretary Arun Kumar Gupta told The Pioneer that the Administration is preparing the COVID-19 management plan to deal with any worst-case scenario as the cases are surging across the country. So far, the situation in Chandigarh has remained far better as no case has been reported in the past six days, he said.
The COVID management plan would focus on arrangements to be put in place to deal with any emergency situation in the city. Testing, monitoring, requirement of ventilators, medical experts, accommodation and other protocols to be followed is being included in the plan, he added.
Notably, the Administration had a day before made it mandatory for the residents to use mask or a cloth on face or mouth in public places to combat the spread of infection.
The first positive case of COVID-19 of a 23-year old woman was reported on March 19. She has recovered from the virus and is discharged from the hospital. Last week, the city had recorded its youngest COVID-19 positive case of a 10-month old girl. The infant is the daughter of NRI couple who had come from Canada on March 13 and was tested positive of Coronavirus on March 30.
UT to follow Centre’s directions on April 14
Amid the concerns that ending the 21-day lockdown on April 14 could lead to spike in COVID-19 cases across the nation, the Chandigarh Administration has decided to follow the Centre’s directions to decide on whether to lift the curfew or put in place the containment policy in high risk zones in the city. While a 21-day nationwide lockdown began from March 25 (12 am), curfew was imposed in Chandigarh on March 24 (12 am) till April 14 to ensure social distancing and combat the spread of COVID-19. Curfew relaxation from 11 am to 3 pm was allowed from March 27 onwards by the UT Administration to facilitate the residents to buy essential items in the city.
Given the current situation, the UT Administration has decided to go ahead with the Centre’s guidelines on April 14 to decide the next course of action. While implementation of containment policy for high risk zones is under consideration, Section 144 prohibiting assembly of five or more will remain in force even after April 14 in the city.
