As number of COVID-19 cases rise in the city, especially from the high-rise buildings, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now decided to seal the entire building if 10 or more cases are reported in one society.
According to revised guidelines, the whole building will be also sealed “if above (10) cases are from two or more floors”, and sealed partially “ if in a building single/bulk cases found in a single home.”
“The respective assistant municipal commissioner or medical health officer can take call about sealing the whole building to prevent the spread of COVID-19 if the sealing of floor or wing is not sufficient,” read guidelines.
In the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in the buildings, Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal conducted a virtual review meeting, in which the revised guidelines decided, points out the circular.
Since the beginning of September, the spread of COVID-19 has witnessed a significant rise in the buildings, taking the number of sealed buildings to 8,763 on September 15, from around 6,171 buildings on August 31, 2020.
The number of containment zones, in slums and chawls, however, has not surged so much as compared to sealed buildings. BMC data shows, Mumbai has only 592 containment zones as on September 15, as compared to 567 zones in August-end.
Earlier on May 13, BMC had issued guidelines about sealing the buildings on finding one or more COVID-19 cases in a building.
