Out of the 150 active COVID-19 cases in Chandigarh, 100 are from 10 houses of Bapu Dham colony,a slum-like area in the Union Territory, Advisor of Chandigarh Administration Manoj Parida said on Tuesday.
"We kept our numbers to a minimum for almost 1.5 months, after which there was an outbreak in Bapu Dham, a slum-like area. Out of 150 active cases,100 are from 10 houses in that particular area. They did not follow the social distancing and other health guidelines and hence there was a spread of the virus. We have contained the zone and people are being treated," Parida told .
Commenting upon the preparedness of the administration to combat COVID-19, Parida said: "We have kept 1,500 beds ready in hospitals for treating COVID-19 patients. We have kept 5, 000 extra COVID-19 care centers for mild symptoms. For critical patients, we have at least 500 beds in the 3 hospitals. For moderate patients, we have at least 2,000 beds. For mild we have at least 3,000 beds in hospitals."
"We have given few relaxations in the Chandigarh in accordance with the central government. We have declared 6 containment zones in Chandigarh. Keeping in view of the cases we are taking further decisions," he added.
Parida said that the administration is following the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) rules for Testing. "We are testing as much as needed. We are testing closed contacts of the patients too," he added.
Informing about the development of the vaccine at PGIMER, Chandigarh, Parida said: "Across the world, there has been no vaccine developed, so far. Medical research bodies and various pharma compes are working to develop a vaccine to treat COVID-19 patients. At PGIMER, the process for developing the vaccine is in the experimental phase. We are fortunate that we have some of the best doctors in the country. We are waiting for good results,"
A study is being conducted by PGIMER-Chandigarh, AIIMS-Delhi, and AIIMS-Bhopal to analyse the use of Mw -- heat-killed mycobacterium indicus pri -- as an adjunct to the treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients.
( With inputs from ANI )