The Union government on Wednesday released a list of hotspot zones in the country, including 170 districts classified as red zones.
Of this, 123 districts have been classified as ones that have a large outbreak, while 47 districts have COVID-19 clusters. A total of 207 districts have been classified as non hot-spots.
In the south there have been 11 districts in Andhra Pradesh, three in Karnataka, six in Kerala, 22 in Tamil Nadu and eight in Telangana identified as ‘red’ zones with large outbreaks.
Andhra Pradesh: Kurnool, Guntur, Spsr Nellore, Prakasam, Krishna, YSR, West Godavari, Chittoor, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Anantapur
Karnataka: Bengaluru Urban, Mysuru, Belagavi
Kerala: Kasaragod, Kannur, Ernakulam, Malappuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta
Tamil Nadu: Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Erode, Vellore, Dindugal, Villupuram, Tiruppur, Theni, Nammakal, Chengalpattu, Madurai, Tuticorin, Karur, Virudhunagar, Kanyakumari, Cuddalore, Thiruvallur, Thiruvarur, Salem, Nagapattinam
Telangana: Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Warangal Urban, Ranga Reddy, Jogulamba Gadwal, Medchal Malkajgiri, Karimnagar, Nirmal
Karnataka: Dakshina Kannada, Bidar, Kalaburagi, Bagalkote, Dharwad
Kerala: Wayanad
Telangana: Nalgonda
Hotspots were earlier defined by the Union Health ministry to be those districts which have either reported large numbers of people falling sick with COVID-19 or where there has been a steady increase in the number of individuals infected with the disease.
As per the notice signed by Preeti Sudan, Health Secretary of India, districts are now classified as either hotspots or ‘red’ zones, non-hotspot districts, and non-infected or ‘green’ zones.
Hotspots districts are further divided into districts with large outbreaks and those with clusters.
Non-hotspot districts which have reported cases are referred to as clusters.
If a red zone hasn’t reported a new positive case in 14 days it will be shifted to hotspot ‘orange’ zone. If no further cases are reported for another 14 days, the district is then declared a ‘green’ zone.
Districts which have high rates of positive cases, which contribute to 80% or more of the number of cases in India and those which contribute to more than 80% of a state’s total number of confirmed cases, as well as those reporting a two-fold increase in the number of cases in a span of less than four days (as measured weekly on Mondays) will be designated as red zones. Districts which have not reported any new cases in the last 28 days are identified as ‘green’ zones. Strict steps must be taken to enforce containment measures including passive and active contact tracing, banning vehicular movement and setting up parameters.
With regards to non-hotspot districts, states have to ensure that existing containment measures also take into account what may happen if a positive case is reported. They also have to make sure that measures are in place so that if any cases are reported in a non-hotspot district in the future, they will be able to contain it. Surveillance of individuals with influenza-like-illnesses (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) must also be done and dedicated COVID-19 hospitals should be set up in each district as a precaution.
The total number of individuals confirmed to be positive for COVID-19 crossed 12,000 on Wednesday. The lockdown period has been extended until May 3 in an effort to contain any further spread of the virus.
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