Covid-19 patients in Faridabad from one village, all linked to Tablighi Jamaat

FARIDABAD: More than 35% of Covid-19 patients in Faridabad are from one village. Badkhal — a village which is surrounded mostly by urban areas — has been declared as a containment zone now.
The health department in Faridabad is closely monitoring the contacts of positive cases in Badkhal village and the district administration is going to declare 3km area around the village as a buffer zone to further contain the spread of coronavirus.
“A total of 12 positive cases of Covid-19 are from Badkhal village. All these cases have Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) links. We are intensifying our containment measures in Badkhal and will find out more steps to battle the increase in number of patients from a single village,” said Dr Ram Bhagat, deputy civil surgeon, Faridabad.
The last case in the area was confirmed on April 14. A 72-year-old woman was tested positive after contracting the infection from her son, Jamaat member.
“This village is surrounded by urban areas like Ankheer, Sector 21, SDM Nagar on one side and on the other, Sector 48 and Sector 49.
Factoring in the pace at which Covid-19 cases are being reported from the village, we are going to declare the areas surrounding it as buffer zones. It has been identified as a hotspot in the district,” Badkhal SDM Pankaj Kumar Setia told TOI.
The door-to-door screening will be conducted in buffer zones to identify symptomatic patients. “We are intensifying our efforts to stop community transmission in the area since the number of cases reported is high,” Setia said.
The village has now been entirely barricaded and movement is restricted since it is a containment zone. An official said the village will be under containment for a long time since the number of cases is continuously being reported from there.
On Wednesday, no new case was reported in Faridabad. The health department has sent 870 samples for tests so far, of which reports of 696 have turned out to be negative while reports of 141 people are still being awaited. An official said the health department has put around 1,298 people with travel history under surveillance. Of 1,298 people, 522 people have completed 28 days of quarantine. Out of 33 patients, eight have been discharged after they recovered completely.
Faridabad deputy commissioner Yashpal Yadav had chaired a meeting with officials on April 14 and instructed them to ensure implementation of restrictions on public movement in all containment zones. The local administration has declared 13 containment zones in the district on the basis of Covid-19 cases reported so far. According to the official, a list of buffer zones of the district will be issued soon.
The Faridabad police on Wednesday arrested 39 people for violating lockdown restrictions the government has imposed, impounded 178 vehicles and collected a fine of Rs 34,400.