Tripura: Lockdown in Agartala from May 17 to 26 As COVID-19 Cases Surge
Agartala: Fear gripped Tripura's state capital, Agartala, after 36 children from two orphanages in the city contracted COVID-19, resulting in the announcement of a lockdown – "Corona curfew" – in the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) region from May 17 to May 26 to contain the spread of the virus.
According to the local administration, people are not allowed to venture out except for buying essentials or for emergency needs. All cinema halls, shopping malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes, stadiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls and other public places have been shut. All religious places have been closed for the public.
The state government has said that the number of COVID-19 cases has been increasing rapidly across the state, and especially in the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) areas in the West District of the state, followed by the Ambassa sub-division of the Dhalai district and the Dharmanagar sub-division of the North District. On Sunday, May 16, Tripura recorded 761 positive cases and 10 fatalities, the highest in a single day.
For the last few days, the number of COVID-19 cases has been rising drastically in the AMC areas. The local administration has already designated three wards of AMC – Ward Numbers 5, 21 and 46 – as containment zones and has begun mass rapid antigen tests, followed by a house-to-house survey.
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Tripura's law minister Ratan Lal Nath on Sunday informed that the positivity rate in AMC's containment zones stood at 21.25% after results from the house-to-house survey emerged.
“In the West District, the positive rate is 65.7%. Therefore, a ‘Corona Curfew’ will be imposed on Monday that is on May 17 from 5 am till May 26”, the minister said.
He added that after reviewing the situation, six more urban local bodies in Tripura have been declared as full containment zones.
A deserted flyover during the 10-day partial lockdown imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19, in Agartala, Monday, May 17, 2021. Photo: PTI.
After the curfew began at 5 am on Monday, May 17, police have begun patrolling across Agartala city and have slapped fine on 400 people for breaking the norms.
While essential and emergency services have been kept outside the ambit of the corona curfew, standalone shops dealing in essential goods like groceries, fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat and fish are allowed to operate from 5 am to 6 pm. However, shopping complexes and malls do not get any exemption.
However, the state government has not put a bar on the inter-state bus services, but buses and light motor vehicles coming from other districts would not be allowed to enter the AMC except for emergency needs.
Government offices offering non-essential services have been instructed to work with minimum staff and to engage employees on a roster basis prepared by offices concerned.
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Orphan children stable
Speaking to The Wire, a health official on the condition of anonymity, informed that during a rapid antigen test the said 36 orphan children, aged 5 and 16 years old, have tested positive.
“The children between 5 and 16 years old were tested positive during a rapid antigen test. Among them, 32 children are from ‘Jawahar Lal Neheru Valika Niwas’ and in ‘Bhasa’, four children were positive. This orphanage falls under Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC). Soon after we heard about the incident we kept them in a separate room for isolating them and keeping a close vigil on their health condition. So far they are stable and found to be asymptomatic. However, we shifted other children to another place," the health official informed. A special doctor has been appointed to take care of the infected children.
Mitigation
Tripura has 41 COVID care centers including Govind Ballabh Pant (GBP) Hospital, the largest dedicated COVID care hospital in the state. These centres have a cumulative strength of 2,717 beds while the government is planning to start a 120-bed COVID hospital at Tripura Medical College, and another three to four other COVID care centres are in the pipeline with over 500 beds put together.
The state government has also started installing oxygen plants in all district and sub-divisional hospitals across the state.
According to the latest reports, Tripura has 4, 561 active COVID cases now, out of which 761 were reported on Sunday, May 16. The state has recorded a total of 438 deaths with 10 deaths in the last 24 hours. The state has now got an overall positivity rate of 5.12% and a 1.07% fatality rate.
The government has received 60,000 vaccine doses for people between 18 and 44 years of age, out of which 9,235 were already inoculated to date. The state has around 16 lakh, eligible people, to take COVID-19 vaccines in the age group. Among those above 45 years of age, 65% of an estimated 11 lakh people were already vaccinated.
This article went live on May seventeenth, two thousand twenty one, at fifteen minutes past nine at night.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
