Gurugram: Amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Gurugram, the health department has expressed concern over the spillover of viral infection to adjoining districts of Rewari and Nuh.

With the reopening of industries and other economic activities, inter-district movement of the industrial workforce may help increase the positive cases in the two districts, health officials in Gurugram said, adding that they are currently analysing the situation to prevent inter-district transmission of virus.

According to the state health bulletin, Rewari reported 1,092 Covid-19 cases till Monday, while Nuh’s count stood at 440. Compared to both the districts, Gurugram has much higher number of positive cases.

On Monday, Gurugram reported 109 new cases, taking the total count of persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus to 7,857. Of these, 1,048 are active cases while 6,693 patients, including 90 on Monday, have recovered, the health bulletin said. The Covid-19 toll in the district stands at 116.

“The districts sharing borders with Gurugram are noticing an increase in the Covid-19 cases, which can be a concern for Gurugram in the time to come,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Gurugram.

“There is an inter-district movement of workforce, be it industrial or rural, among the three districts. We are keeping an eye on their rising numbers to prevent transmission of coronavirus infection. The number of testing has also increased in the industrial areas where there is maximum movement of the workers,” said Yadav.

Notably, Daruhera in Rewari and Manesar in Gurugram are big industrial towns.

Yashendra Singh, deputy commissioner, Rewari, said, “Nearly 70% Covid-19 cases of Rewari are clustered in Dharuhera, where people commute from Gurugram and Bhiwadi (Rajasthan) or vice versa. Coronavirus cases have increased in Rewari which we are trying to control.”

A two-day sanitisation drive started in Dharuhera on Monday, Singh said, adding that contacts of confirmed cases are being put in quarantine and testing has been increased.

The Nuh health department also confirmed that their emerging hotspots share proximity to Gurugram. Dr Jaswant Singh Punia, chief medical officer, Nuh, said that Covid-19 clusters are emerging in areas bordering Gurugram.

“Emerging hotspots are centralised in areas like Tauru and Nuh having high inter-district movement. The health department has intensified testing using antigen kits in these hotspots. Also, people who work in Gurugram and have tested positive, their immediate contact tracing is done and suspected cases are being put in four quarantine centres set up in Nuh,” said Punia, who has served as Gurugram’s chief medical officer before Yadav took over in June.

A senior health department official in Gurugram said that coronavirus cases are increasing in rural parts of Rewari and Gurugram. “Factories are operational now. A lot of people do daily movement between the two districts, due to which cases are now increasing in peri-urban and rural areas,” said Dr Aruna Sangwan, senior medical officer of Pataudi block that touches border with Rewari district.

“The rise in the Covid-19 cases in Rewari and Pataudi can be attributed to this unrestricted inter-district and inter-state movement,” said Sangwan.