COVID-19: Mumbai civic body decides to post cops at entrance of sealed buildings

MUMBAI: Mumbai's civic commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal on Monday directed officials to deploy police at the entrance of buildings sealed due to the coronavirus pandemic in order to stop people from entering them so as to curb the spread of infection.

As per current civic protocol, a building is sealed if it has five or more COVID-19 patients.

The city had 27 sealed buildings as on Monday.

A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation release informed that the decision was taken at a virtual meeting chaired by Chahal and attended by ward officers, hospital deans and officials of the civic public health department as well as the Mumbai police's deputy commissioner (operations).

It said no one would be allowed to enter sealed buildings, while people who come to provide various services would also be stopped.

Chahal said the people living in such buildings might be inconvenienced by the order but he asked them to cooperate so that the pandemic could be controlled.

The BMC release said the number of COVID-19 patients had gone up slightly in the metropolis and there was need to be vigilant about implementing preventive measures.

Authorities in all 24 wards of the BMC have been told by the municipal commissioner to appoint clean up marshals to take punitive action against those not wearing masks or defying social distancing norms.

Keeping in mind the possibility of a third wave of infections as well as a potential outbreak of the Delta variant, Chahal asked civic hospitals and jumbo treatment centres to be prepared.

He said 74 per cent of people above the age of 18 in Mumbai had been vaccinated against COVID-19 and asked civic officials to ensure the rest 26 per cent are covered quickly.