As the second phase of lockdown nears its end, the number of coronavirus or COVID-19 hotspots, or “red zones”, across India witnessed a drop of around 23 per cent in 15 days, from 170 on April 15 to 130 on April 30. All four major metropolitans – Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai – have been classified as red zones.
However, in the same period, the number of “green zones”, or districts reporting no new case linked to Coronavirus, dropped from 356 to 319, while the number of “orange zones” increased – from 207 to 284, as per a letter from the Union Health Ministry to the chief secretaries of all states and union territories, following a video conference yesterday.
“It is important to ensure that we identify pockets of critical interventions for a focused management of COVID -19 at the field level,” Union Health Ministry Secretary Preeti Sudan said in a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all states and UTs.The government has also changed the criterion to identify the hotspots. Now, a district needs to be infection-free for a period of 21 days to be designated as “green”, or virus-free. Previously this number was 28 days.
Uttar Pradesh has the maximum 19 red zones followed by Maharashtra which has 14 red zones. Tamil Nadu comes next with 12 red zones followed by Delhi which has 11 red zones. West Bengal is in fifth place with 10 red zones.
The maximum number of “green” zones are in the Northeastern states. While Assam has 30 such areas, Arunachal Pradesh has 25, Manipur 16, Meghalaya 10 and Mizoram and Nagaland have 11 each. Tripura has six and Sikkim four.
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