Half of total Delhi-NCR population in red zone

New Delhi: With nearly 180 areas declared as hotspots and their surrounding areas as buffer zones across Delhi-NCR, almost half of the total population is either living in red zone or sensitive zone.

As per health experts, the decision to declare more and more areas as hotspots is being taken considering increasing number of COVID-19 patients in and around the National Capital, However, the residents living in these areas have their own concerns as the lockdown has crossed one month.

Till Friday, there were 92 hotspot zones in Delhi, 33 in Noida and Greater Noida, 24 in Gurugram, 16 in Ghaziabad and 13 in Faridabad.

"Dilshad Garden area had witnessed dozens of cases but due to the decision to declare the area as red zone at an early stage have resulted in zero cases. It's the farsightedness of Delhi agencies that has resulted in the recovery of 857 patients so far," said a health department official.

District Administration of Gautam Buddh Nagar has also made a similar claim behind the decision to mark more and more areas as sensitive zones. Over three lakh houses in both the cities are located in containment zones. The administration has also marked the buffer zone, which comes in the radius of one kilometre near a hotspot and barricades are put to seal the localities falling in this zone.

Both Noida and Greater Noida witnessed a total of 33 hotspots as positive cases touched 103 mark. Out these cases, active number of cases is 49 now while as many as 56 patients have been recovered, which is above 50 per cent of the total cases. "Currently there are 33 hotspots while seven areas have been removed from the list. This prompt action by the authorities has prevented patients from developing severe symptoms," claim the district officials.

With 24 containment zones, a major chunk of Gurugram's population is confined to their homes. Initially there were lesser number of zones but due to increasing number of Corona suspects, authorities decided to declare more areas as red zones. "For combating the situation in these areas, a special action plan is being followed owing to which 35 out of 47 positive patients have been recovered," claimed the Gurugram officials. Ghaziabad and Faridabad also witnessed similar situations.