39 wards in Bengaluru declared as hotspots: What this means for people in these wards

Coronavirus

However, the civic body has sealed only two wards – Bapuji Nagar and Padarayanapura.

TNM Staff

PTI/Representation Photo

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has so far declared 39 wards in Bengaluru as hotspots for novel coronavirus. “We have identified 39 wards that are hotspots so far. This number can change depending on whether or not people from other wards test positive in the days to come,” said Randeep Dev, Special Commissioner, BBMP.  The wards that have been identified include Aramane Nagar, Radhakrishna Temple, Malleshwaram, JC Nagar, Hoodi, CV Raman Nagar, Hoysala Nagar, Domlur, Sampangiramanagar, Adugodi, Jnana Bharathi, Bapuji Nagar, Padarayanapura, JP Nagar, VV Puram, Hombegowda Nagar, Hadagoor, Suddaguntepalya, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Katriguppe, Goruguntepalya, Madiwala, HSR Layout, Shakambari Nagar, Chikkalasandra, Konanakunte, Anjanapura, Hemmigepura, Garudachar Palya, Sanjaynagar, Maruthi Seva Nagar, Ramaswamy Palya, Vasanth Nagar and Sudhama Nagar . As of Wednesday morning, Bengaluru had 80 of the 258 COVID-19 cases in Karnataka. Of them, 31 people have been discharged and two have died in the state. With the number of COVID-19 cases increasing in the city, the BBMP has revised the definition of a hotspot and even if an area has one positive case, the BBMP is declaring it as a hotspot for novel coronavirus. According to the new definition, a hotspot is an area with an administrative boundary. That is, a revenue village in rural areas, or a ward in urban areas, that have at least one COVID-19 case that was reported in 28 days (counting back from April 11). “Either one person must test positive or at least 50 contacts of a positive patient must reside in this particular administrative area,” Randeep added.  He, however, said that only two wards have been sealed off including Bapuji Nagar and Padarayanapura. “The containment zone will be within a 3 km radius of the residence of the person who has tested positive. When any place is completely sealed off, we will inform people about it. There is no need to spread rumours that just because we have identified 39 hotspots, we are sealing off all of them,” said Dr Vijayendra, Chief Health Officer of the BBMP.  BBMP Commissioner Anil Kumar said that the purpose of classifying these areas as hotspots was to ensure ease of carrying out the contact tracing process. “Once an area is classified as a hotspot, we begin to trace primary and secondary contacts and also put in place the containment measures to be taken surrounding the 3 km radius of the person’s house. Only when there is a dramatic spike in cases, say there are four or five people who test positive in a day or within a short period of time, that’s when we decide whether the ward should be sealed,” he added.  “We have not yet decided whether more tests will be conducted in these hotspots. We are waiting for the kits to arrive,” he said.   

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