As cases rise once more, the civic body may again seal buildings that have five or more cases, recommends police action against those without masks, and is looking to add marshalls, teachers, women to enforce masking
BMC squads fine people for not wearing masks or not wearing them properly at CSMT on Thursday. Pic/Suresh Karkera
After the rise in COVID-19 cases, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is back to square one in terms of the action it took at the beginning of the pandemic. All relaxations will be reversed and some rules strictly imposed again with firmer action against violators. The BMC is readying itself to intensify its battle against COVID-19, and Mumbaikars have no option but to toe the line.
The BMC has already begun implementing some of the action. Passengers from Brazil for instance, are being forcibly quarantined.
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In a meeting on Thursday, the civic commissioner ordered all concerned officers to file a police complaint against people not following social distancing. The action to be taken also includes BMC teams calling on the landline number of residents in home quarantine. The corporation will raid marriage halls and clubs to check the number of people and whether they are following social distancing rules. The owners of halls and clubs will also face police action if the number of people are more than 50 and they do not follow social distancing. "If rules are violated at wedding ceremonies, criminal action should be taken against the organisers/parents, as well as the concerned management," said Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal.
Shoppers at Dadar on Thursday. Pic/Ashish Raje
The BMC has also decided to reverse all the relaxations it has given in the past few months after the cases started declining. One such relaxation was regarding the sealing of buildings. In the early days, a building was sealed after a single patient was reported there. The rules were relaxed and then the corporation started sealing a building if there were five or more patients. In October the rules were further relaxed due to pressure from the residents and only those buildings which reported 10 or more patients were sealed. But it was learnt that the residents were not following quarantine rules for two weeks. “Now as per the discussion in today’s meeting, the rules for sealing a building will be stricter. A building will be sealed even after reporting five patients. The guidelines may be issued on Monday,” said an official from the BMC.
Prithviraj Chauhan, assistant commissioner of M east ward told mid-day, “We will take the landline number of people who are in home quarantine and call them at regular intervals to keep tabs on them. If they do not follow the rules we will send them to institutional quarantine.”
A BMC team conducts tests at Dhanji Devasi BMC school, Ghatkopar (E) on Thursday . Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Asymptomatic patients who do not show any symptoms will be home quarantined. "Such patients will also be stamped on their hands as before and their information will be reported to the concerned societies. They will also be contacted on the telephone 5 to 6 times a day to ensure that they are at home. If the asymptomatic patient walks out of the house before the completion of the home quarantine period into a public place, the housing society should inform the Ward War Room of the corporation which will act against such patients. Institutional quarantine will also be done for such patients," said Chahal.
Forced testing for early detection
“People are not ready to get a test done. After a joint initiative by L and M/East wards in Nehru Nagar and Tilak Nagar, and visiting over 5,000 houses, we found only 19 people were ready to get tested. As of now, we do not force anyone and people will understand the importance of tests. But if the condition deteriorates, the BMC may be forced to do tests for early detection,” said Manish Walanju, assistant commissioner of L ward consisting of Kurla and Chembur. He added that they had filed a police complaint against the resident of a Powai building for not following quarantine rules. The Powai police filed the FIR under IPC section 188 (Disobedience to order) and 269 (Whoever unlawfully or negligently does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) on Thursday. “The resident was found positive and we sealed the floor, informed the residents and secretary. Even after that she went to Pune. After a complaint from one of the residents we took action against her,” said Dr. Jitendra Jadhav, medical officer of L ward. This is the first complaint after the commissioner asked to take a stringent action.
"In areas where a large number of new patients are found, area mapping will be done and the maximum number of tests will also be done there. In such areas, at least 15 close contact persons per patient will be found and kept in isolation. In slums and densely populated areas, health check-up camps will be organised with the help of NGOs to check suspects," added Chahal.
Forced segregation of travellers from Brazil
As per the rules of the Central government, now passengers coming to India from Brazil will also have to live in institutional quarantine. As a result, the BMC administration has decided to forcibly keep passengers coming from Brazil at the Mumbai airport in seven-day institutional quarantine and its implementation has started.
Even the action against those not wearing masks will be harsh and the target for staff to fine violators has been increased to 25,000. The BMC has already deployed marshals in local trains to act against those not wearing masks. Municipal Commissioner Chahal told mid-day that the action will be intensified to curb the spread of COVID-19.
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