The Navi Mumbai police have begun aerial surveillance of Karanja after an upsurge of COVID-19 cases was reported in the village last week. So far, 98 positive cases of coronavirus have been reported from the village. The area has already been put under the red zone and also declared containment zones.
The Raigad district administration has asked residents to stay at home and not step out. Since the village has narrow lanes, the police decided to use drones to keep a watch on the unnecessary movement of villagers.
“Villagers are following the lockdown diligently and staying at home. Since the village is old and lanes are very narrow, drones are being used for surveillance,” said an official from Uran police station.
According to the officials from Raigad district, 92 people were infected with COVID-19 by a fisherman from the village. “The mother of the fisherman had died. His family was mourning and two villagers had visited them,” said an official from the collector office. He added that the 43-year-old fisherman tested positive last Friday, following which 21 members from his family also tested positive.
After 21 family members tested positive of COVID-19, the local administration traced 67 close contacts and their swabs were sent for testing. The report revealed that 27 more were infected with the virus. They were admitted to MGM Hospital in Kamothe. “The hunt began again of who had come close to the family. By Wednesday, 44 more were found infected in the village,” said the official.
The Raigad Collector office then set up a booth in the village to take the swabs of villagers.
Nidhi Chaudhary, Raigad district collector, declared Uran Taluka as a red zone after 48 positive cases were reported in just three days last week. As per the central government’s report, Raigad district was under the orange zone. However, due to a sudden rise in positive cases, parts of the district are now under the red zone.
RAF personnel tests positive
A 34-year-old Rapid Action Force personnel in Taloja tested positive for COVID-19. As per the health department of Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC), the RAF personnel had visited a hospital for his appendix. Prima facie, it seemed that he might have been infected at the hospital. He has been admitted to MGM Hospital in Kamothe. Meanwhile, a total of 15 new positive cases were reported on May 16 under PMC. The total positive cases of COVID-19 reached 246. 112 of them have been discharged and seven deaths have been reported.
