The district administration on Tuesday barred entry to and exit from 148 villages in Nuh, declaring 36 villages as containment zones and 112 others buffer areas, after 23 new Covid-19 patients were reported in a single day — taking the total number of patients in the district to 37. The administration said 36 of the total patients had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in March at the Markaz in Delhi’s Nizamuddin. One affected person is a 50-year-old truck driver.

Nine of the 37 are foreigners and 25 are from different states. Only three patients are locals, the administration said.

Pankaj, deputy commissioner, Nuh, said 23 cases were reported from the district on Tuesday — the highest number of cases reported in a day from anywhere in the state. He said these Covid-19 positive patients had frequently moved around in the 36 villages that have now been declared as containment zones.

“For the safety of people in and around these villages, their boundaries had been sealed and door-to-door screening and scanning of people is being done,” the deputy commissioner said.

“We have identified 36 villages that had been visited by these patients before they were sent into quarantine. We have declared them as containment zones and their neighbouring 112 villages as a buffer zone. Special teams have been formed for keeping a strict vigil in and around the villages and monitoring movement of the villagers from these identified zones,” he said, adding that the administration was working in close coordination with police and medical teams.

Nuh was identified as the most backward district in the country by NITI Aayog in April 2018. In an assessment on multiple parameters such as health, education, agriculture, financial inclusion, skill development, and infrastructure, Mewat scored 26% — the lowest across the country. This socio-economic backwardness of the region is likely to influence the administration’s containment and treatment efforts.

“It will be challenging to maintain peace and ensure that panic doesn’t spread, especially now that the district has the highest number of cases in the state. We are focusing on two things, keeping people with a travel history in self-quarantine and identifying those who have developed symptoms of Covid-19,” said Pankaj, who goes by his first name.

The administration has converted seven buildings into quarantine centres in the district. ITI college of Ferozepur Jhirka, Model School of Palla, private hostel in Rehna and Polytechnic college of Malab and a school from Ferozepur Namak have been turned into quarantines, said officials. One building in Rehna village is being used to isolate only foreigners.

Four kitchen services— one government and three private— are operating in the district. NGOs are supporting the administration and delivering 8,000 food packets daily which include 1,700 from the government kitchen.

“Medical teams are monitoring the food packets and ensuring that it is healthy and packed properly. We are providing free cooked food and ration to the poor and migrant labourers who are living in camps. Also, if any villager is unable to make their ends meet, we are providing them food and other essential items,” said Pankaj.

In a statement released by the administration, 36 villages — Bisru, Khanpur Ghati, Umara, Devla, Bond, Akhnaka, Sidhrawat, Agon, Kameda, Nai, Malab, Dihana, Mahu Chopra, Chitoda, Raniyala, Madopur, Punhana, Rahera, Raipur, Rangad Bass, NijampurTauru, Didhana, Sevka, Sikarpur, Nuh, Untka, Muradabas, Bai, Charoda, Rithat , Shapur and four more villages are part of the containment zone. At least 112 villages share boundaries with these 36 villages. As many as 160 people were in contact with the Covid-19 patients who are currently in-home quarantine.

Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Nuh, told HT, “We have prepared a unique containment plan for the district and are sanitising all the villages where cases have been reported from,” said Yadav.

All patients who had tested positive from Nuh and Palwal have been shifted to Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Government Medical College, Nalhar, Nuh. The OPD services in the hospital have been cancelled and it is only catering to Covid-19 patients. All the makeshift shops and markets in the area have been shut. Only two medical shops are allowed to operate, said the CMO.

According to Yadav, at least 1,201 people in Nuh who came in contact with the people who had attended the congregation in Markaz in March have been put on surveillance and 84 people who travelled to foreign countries are in quarantine. They were traced to different mosques in Nuh villages. “We had sent samples of 355 people out of which 37 tested positive, 191 tested negative and results of 134 samples are awaited. Forty-four people are currently hospitalised,” said Yadav. A 25-member team of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHAs) and Nurse Midwife (ANMs) has also been constituted to screen every house in the identified villages Narender Bijarniya, superintendent of police, Nuh said, “At least 25 policemen have been deployed in bigger villages to prevent people from moving to other areas and to adjoining districts. This is to ensure the safety of people and prevent transmission of the virus. The boundaries of the 24 villages have been barricaded. We are also requesting people to share their travel history and inform us about anyone with symptoms of Covid-19.”

The police are also tracking the travel history of the people who had attended the Markaz congregation and are taking help from the local clerics and religious leaders to identify them or people who came in close contact with the ones who attended the event.

According to the police, till Tuesday 1,201 people in the district were under surveillance, out of which 60 people completed their 14 days of quarantine and 1,141 were under home quarantine. To maintain law and order in these villages, four senior government officials have been appointed as duty magistrate. An order for sanitising these villages was issued by the Nuh administration on Tuesday.

In Palwal, on Tuesday, three persons tested positive for Covid-19, after which the district total has reached 28. The district has reported the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in the state. The administration has declared 15 villages as containment/red zones and their surrounding 36 villages as buffer zones after 28 tested positive. They had attended the Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin last month. Deputy commissioner, Palwal, said public transport in these villages was being banned for containing the spread of coronavirus. The villagers under the containment area have been quarantined.