With Hyderabad having an overwhelming 216 active cases of COVID-19, a worried Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has decided to divide the city into 17 'units' to oversee containment measures.
“More cases are getting registered in the Greater Hyderabad area. In Hyderabad, there are more chances of the persons with positive cases quickly spreading it to others,” said KCR announcing a special strategy for Hyderabad, which broadly comes under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
The Chief Minister on Monday issued directions to officials to divide the city into zones, and that each zone should be treated as one unit. Each unit will have a special officer entrusted with the task of containing the disease in their respective zone.
The GHMC has 17 circles, and each circle will be treated as an individual unit. Every unit will have a special medical officer, municipal officer, a police officer and revenue officer, KCR said. The decision was made after holding a high-level review meeting with the Health Minister, Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary at the Pragathi Bhavan.
“The entire Municipal administration department should involve themselves in the programme to prevent the coronavirus. As on date, there is only one District Medical and Health Officer in Hyderabad city. Appoint senior medical officers to the 17 circles,” the CM said.
The Chief Minister also said that they have created 246 containment zones across the state, out of which 126 of them are in Hyderabad alone.
Instructing officials to efficiently manage the 'containment zones' with positive cases, he said, “Do not allow people from the Containment Centre to go out and do not allow others to enter into these centres. Appoint a special nodal officer and a police officer at the centres. Maintain a strict vigil under their supervision. The government machinery should supply the essential commodities to the people in these Centres.”
Urging officials and the citizens to be more cautious as the number of COVID-19 positive is growing both within the state and in the neighbouring states, he also instructed the medical and health department to be more vigilant and be prepared for what lies ahead.
Meanwhile, in a worrying trend, the state recorded 61 new cases and also one death, taking the overall total of cases to 592. With 103 persons recovering and 17 deaths, the state has 472 active cases.
District-wise tally
Hyderabad - 216
Nizamabad - 35
Vikarabad - 24
Warangal Urban - 21
Rangareddy - 20
Jogulamba Gadwal - 20
Suryapet - 20
Medhcal - 18
Nirmal - 18
Nalgonda - 12
Adilabad - 11
Mahabubnagar - 10
Kamareddy - 8
Khammam - 7
Sangareddy - 6
Karimnagar - 4
Bhupalapally - 3
Asifabad - 3
Nagarkurnool - 2
Jagtial - 2
Mulugu - 2
Pedapalli - 2
Mahabubabad, Siddipet and Rajanna Sircilla - 1 case each