Padarayanapura: Fresh hurdles for COVID-19 mass screening

A plan to mass-test people living in the Padrayanapura COVID-19 containment zone hit another roadblock on Wednesday when dozens of people turned out to block the move.

Nearly one hundred residents of Ward 137 Rayapuram, which is located adjacent to Padrayanapura, gathered in front of the testing site at the J J Nagar General Hospital opposing the plans to test residents from Padrayanapura.

“Our ward is made up primarily of daily-wage workers and pourakarmikas. Bringing potentially infected people from the Padarayanapura containment zone to get tested here in the green ward, could potentially result in an outbreak here,” said the local Corporator Shashikala Gopalkrishna.

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Residents expressed horror and anger that a testing centre for the Padarayanapura cluster would be done near their homes.

“The hospital is a designated fever clinic, yes, but we have never had a single COVID-19 case in this area. What if the disease breaks out here? First of all, our economic situation is precarious. If a containment zone is established here, it will create major problems, not only in terms of health but also economics,” said a shopkeeper, whose store is within sight of the hospital.

Shashikala added that she had sent a letter to the BBMP commissioner asking that the testing site be moved elsewhere.

‘Not to be shifted’

Meanwhile, BBMP Commissioner B H Anil Kumar said there was no possibility of moving the site anywhere else. “It took us a month to get permission to set up in that hospital. We have put in much time and effort for this. There is no possibility of moving the testing site,” he said.

According to the Palike, it already has 500 testing kits to test inmates off the containment zone and is ready to proceed.

The commissioner promised action against those trying to interfere with the operations of the hospital. “Testing activities will start from tomorrow,” a source said.

Addressing concerns about the infection, the Palike clarified that people from the Padarayanpura containment zone will not be made to walk there.

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on May 13

“They will be brought to the hospital in small groups by an ambulance and sent back by the ambulance. Moreover, they are all not positive. They are only suspected cases. There is no possibility of the
infection spreading,” the civic body said.