MCG steps up anti Covid-19 measures amidst rise in cases

Gurugram: The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has decided to increase staff at its coronavirus control room which is used for contact tracing and for uploading real-time data on Covid-19 cases. The corporation will also restart extensive sanitising and disinfection services at Covid-19 hotspots amidst a rise in coronavirus cases in the city.

“From around a dozen workers, the total staff at the Covid-19 control room has been increased to nearly 30. With cases surging, we wanted to have requisite manpower to help with contact tracing and issuing updates of Covid-19 cases on a real-time portal for the perusal of the district health department and Gurugram police,” said Ashish Singla, chief medical officer (CMO), MCG.

MCG’s control room operates out of its Sector 39 office near Rajiv Chowk, where the civic body’s health wing is also located. Singla said that details of contacts of Covid-19 patients which cannot be traced by the MCG are shared with Gurugram police for further action.

Officials further said that they are now executing extensive sanitisation and disinfection operations in areas coming under four primary health centres – Tigra, Chanderlok, Wazirabad, and Badshapur – which are registering more than 65% of the city’s cases recently. They added that there are neither any plans to change protocols at crematoriums and burial grounds, nor regarding the enforcement of mask-wearing at present.

“We are expecting an order from the Haryana government next week regarding mask-wearing and will accordingly follow directions listed in the order,” said a senior MCG official privy to the matter.

Gurugram on Friday recorded 472 new Covid-19 cases according to the daily bulletin of the district administration. The city also registered a Covid-related death on Friday, an 82-year-old man who succumbed to the infection, district administration officials said. The last time the city recorded a Covid-related fatality was on July 29 this year.

In just the last three days, the city has recorded 1658 cases, nearly 37% of this month’s total tally of 4486 cases. In July, the city reported a total of 5438 Covid-19 cases. The positivity rate in Gurugram has also increased from 4.97% on August 1 to 11.02% on Friday.

“The rise in Covid-19 cases has occurred due to an increase in human interaction. There have been festivals over the last three weeks, and August is the harbinger of a season where viral cases tend to increase due to changes in temperatures. With more festivities around the corner, we are expecting cases to increase further this month,” said Virender Yadav, CMO, district health department.

He advised residents to maintain social distance, avoid crowded areas, and ensure they wear their masks at all times.