UPDATE
Cabinet Secy. on 30-04-2020 stated that it is important to ensure that pockets of critical interventions are identified for a focused management of COVID-19 at the field level.
Districts were earlier designated as hotspots / red-zones, orange zones and green zones primarily based on the cumulative cases reported and the doubling rate.
Since recovery rates have gone up, the districts are now being designated across various zones duly broad-basing the criteria. This classification is multi-factorial and takes into consideration incidence of cases, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback to classify the districts.
A district will be considered under Green Zone, if there are no confirmed cases so far or there is no reported case since last 21 days in the district.
Based on field feedback and additional analysis at state level, states may designate additional red or orange zones as appropriate. However, states may not relax the zonal classification of districts classified as red or orange as communicated by the Ministry.
For the districts having one or more municipal corporations, the corporations and other areas of districts may be treated as separate units.
If one or more of these units have reported no cases for last 21 days, they can be considered as one level lower in zonal classification, in case the district is in Red/ Orange Zone. District authorities should, however, exercise due caution in such areas so that these areas remain free from COVID-19 cases.
It is critical to ensure that necessary action for containment so as to break the chain of transmission of virus is initiated in both red and orange zone districts reporting confirmed cases.
The containment zones in these districts have to be delineated based on:
- Mapping of cases at contacts
- Geographical dispersion of cases and contacts
- Area with well demarcated perimeter
- Enforceability
Depending on above factors, for urban areas — residential colony/mohalla/municipal wards or police-station area/municipal zones/towns etc. as appropriate can be designated as containment zones. Similarly, for rural areas — villages/clusters of villages or group of police stations/gram panchayats/blocks etc. as appropriate can be designated as containment zones.
The area should be appropriately defined by the district administration/local urban body with technical inputs from local level.
Further, a buffer zone around containment zone has to be demarcated.
Necessary action should then be initiated in these areas as part of the Containment Action Plans already communicated including —
— Stringent Perimeter control
- Establishing clear entry and exit points
- No movement except for medical emergencies and essential goods & services
- No unchecked influx of population
- People transiting to be recorded & followed through IDSP
– Active search for cases through house to house surveillance by special teams formed for the purpose
– Testing of all cases as per sampling guidelines
– Contact tracing
-Clinical management of all confirmed cases
Similarly, in buffer zones, extensive surveillance for cases through monitoring of ILI/SARI cases in health facilities has to be taken up.
All States are accordingly requested to delineate the containment zones and buffer zones in the identified red and orange zone districts and notify the same.
For the week after 3rd May, the list of red/orange/green districts is as below :
Number of districts per zone
Red Zone 130
Orange Zone 284
Green Zone 319
Please follow the link to access the full list with demarcations:
State wise list of hotspot districts reporting cases of COVID 19 issued by Department of Health and Family Welfare
Department of Health and Family Welfare has classified districts based on the reported cases as: Hotspots, Non-Hotspots districts reporting cases and districts which have not reported positive cases.
Certain criteria has also been laid down with regard to the classification of hotspots. It has also been stated that the exercise of identification of hotspots has to be done on a weekly basis (every Monday) or earlier. Strict containment measures need to be implemented in these hotspots.
Containment operation would be deemed over when there is no case reported in 28 days from an area after last case tests negative. Hotspots (designated red zones) will be assumed to be undertaking effective containment activities, if no case is reported in next 14 days (designated orange zones) and will be deemed successful in containment, if no case is reported for 28 days (designated green zones).
List of hotspot districts with large outbreaks has been has provided in Annexure II.
List of hotspot districts with clusters is provided in Annexure III.
To read the detailed letter, please follow the link below: