NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has decided to take services of its own public sector undertaking Geospatial Delhi Limited (GSDL) to map residential pockets outside the containment zones, from where coronavirus cases are being reported occasionally.
Officials, privy to the development, said that directives were already issued in this regard. The exercise is being carried out following the order from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Instructions were issued last week to identify areas where ‘isolated’ Covid cases have been emerging sporadically in the last 28 days.
There locations were, however, never categorised as clusters or hotspots. They were never sealed and converted into containment zones.
Interestingly, the GSDL, which maintains and updates spatial data through mapping and surveys has helped the administration in Covid management exercise at least on two occasions earlier.
The agency had previously mapped areas having clusters of Covid positive cases and also prepared digitised data of patients under home isolation.
“Though we are aware of the areas where the patients have reported in the past few weeks, we already have started our testing camps targeting people living in and around such pockets. The GSDL mapping will certainly help us target specific pockets.
If it will require, we may convert them into containment zones,” said a senior government official.
In the revised Covid Response Plan, the DGHS had asked the surveillance units in all 11 revenue districts to carry out an intense screening of auto, rickshaw, taxi and tempo drivers, house workers, daily wagers, technicians, plumbers, carpenters among others.
Officials have already started organising camps and testing of these groups in the city.