COVID-19 containment starts with identification of hotspots, their categorisation: MHA

New Delhi [India], April 16 (ANI): The COVID-19 containment has started with the identification of hotspots and their categorization into different zones based on the occurrence of cases in those areas, the Union Home Ministry said here on Thursday.
The areas reporting a large number of cases or high growth rate of COVID-19 will be categorised as Red Zone hotspots. The inclusion criteria of Red zones will be as follows:
-Highest caseload districts contributing to more than 80 per cent of cases in India or
-Highest caseload districts contributing to more than 80 per cent of cases for each state in India or
- Districts with a doubling rate in less than 4 days (calculated every Monday for last 7 days, to be determined by the state government)
AN MHA spokesperson said that hotspot districts can be turned to Orange Zone when no cases are reported for 14 days and this zone will be declared a Green Zone (non-infected districts) when no more positive cases are reported for another 14 days.
There are 170 Red Zones and 207 non-hotspot districts with clusters in the country.
The Red Zone hotspots are further categorised into two categories-- Clusters and Large Outbreak. The hotspots will be termed as Large Outbreak if there is a localised increase in the incidence of COVID-10 cases occurring within a defined geographic area, cases not epidemiologically linked or there are more than 15 cases in the area.
There are 123 hotspot districts with large outbreaks in the country.
The hotspots will be termed as clusters if there are less than 15 cases in a limited area and cases are epidemiologically linked.
There are 47 hotspot districts with clusters in the country.
The spokesperson said that the area for clusters and large outbreak should be appropriately defined by the district administration/local urban body with technical inputs at the local level and it would be appropriate to err on the higher side.
The spokesperson further said that the strategic approach for COVID-19 containment broadly involves defining area of operation, applying perimeter control, delineating containment and buffer zones, active search for cases, contact tracing, quarantine, clinical management and awareness generation among the public. (ANI)