BBN firms told to create isolation facilities

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, July 15

With a surge in Covid cases in the BBN industrial belt, especially in the last 10 days, the managements of industrial units were today directed to create temporary isolation facilities for at least 10 per cent of their workforce within seven days.

Of 262 cases reported from Solan district, 45.04 per cent pertain to industrial workers, 36.26 per cent inter-state travellers, 8.40 per cent contacts and 2.67 per cent labourers.

Since July 3, 96 of 121 positive cases have been reported from Sara Textiles (ST) and Wrigley India Pvt Ltd (WIPL).

Solan District Magistrate KC Chaman said, “There is a high probability that more industrial workers are infected. The available health infrastructure, including Covid care centres, is not enough to cater to patients.”

He said the industrial managements had also been directed to engage private medical staff to assist the district health authorities looking after Covid cases.

A majority of industrial workers who have tested positive are engaged in production activities while only five migrants who had entered the belt through escape routes contracted the infection. They were already in institutional quarantine.

The authorities have made labour contractors and industry managements accountable for their workers and they are supposed to ensure that only those who test negative are permitted to join work.

New containment zones notified

Ten new containment zones have been notified in the BBN belt with the emergence of 69 new cases in the last two days. These areas include Adarsh Colony, Dattowal village, Darshan Suits and Sarees shop in the main bazar in Nalagarh and three shops next to it, Dr Gargi Clinic, Nalagarh, all shops located in its lane, houses of positive patients at Friends Colony, Nalagarh, up to Ramshehar Road, JBM industrial unit, Chowkiwala, and the houses of patients at Nangal, Rajpura and Chatlog villages in Nalagarh.