130 districts identified as Covid-19 hotspots home to nearly 400 million

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, May 02, 2020: The Centre on Friday listed 130 districts as hot spots of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), down from the previously designated 170 “red zones”, even as the number of “green zones” – areas that largely remain outside the spectre of the pathogen – decreased from 353 to 319, an announcement that came hours before the national lockdown was extended by two weeks, but with some relaxations.

The Union health ministry removed 92 districts from the 170 it classified as Covid-19 hotspots on April 15 and added 52 new districts to the list, leaving 130 red zones in the total 733 districts in the country. These 130 districts are home to a third of the country’s population and cover a fifth of the geographical area, an analysis of the 2011 Census data by Hindustan Times shows. Nearly 400 million people live in these hot spots, which are spread across 22 states and Union territories (UTs), but only four states are home to more than half of them, Hindustan Times reported.

 

In the fresh classification, which will be followed by states and Union territories for a week from May 3, 284 districts have been identified as orange zones, up from 207 districts. All major metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad have been designated as red zones because of high caseloads and clusters of infections.

The zones were initially divided on the basis of total cumulative cases and the rate of doubling of cases: red zones were those where the numbers of Covid-19 infections and doubling rate were high; orange zones had fewer cases and greater doubling rate; and green zones were those where no case was reported in 28 days. The new list, however, was prepared by including other factors such as incidence and level of testing, and population density.

“This time, we have broadened the criteria. The areas have been labelled also keeping in mind the fact these should not become potential hot spots if relaxations are given as per the green zone criteria. Some places may be in green zone but their proximity to areas where case load is high makes them vulnerable, so those areas have also been designated as red or orange zones in the new list,” said Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, health ministry.

Red zones will now be defined by taking into account the total number of active cases, the doubling rate of infections, the extent of testing and the surveillance feedback. To qualify as a green zone, an area would have had to report no new infections for three weeks. The classifications will be “dynamic” and updated at least weekly as conditions change, according to a letter by Union health secretary Preeti Sudan.

There are significant differences between the list of red zones shared on April 15 and the latest advisory. Even as the total number of red zone districts has decreased by 40, seven states have seen a rise in the number. West Bengal saw the highest rise, from four to 10. Tamil Nadu saw the biggest fall in the number of such districts – out of the 22 districts earlier classified as red zones, 13 have now been removed while three new districts have been added to the list, making the new tally 12.