Day after Covid spike at Bhundar, nearby villages plan to seal borders

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, May 18

A day after Bhundar village in Gidderbaha subdivision here was declared a macro-containment zone, residents of some other neighbouring villages have started planning to seal the entry points for outsiders.

Notably, 178 people had tested positive for Covid at Bhundar village here till Monday. Further, as per the Health Department’s daily report, five more people tested positive in the village on Tuesday.

Sukhdev Singh, Bhundar village sarpanch, said the rapid antigen tests of 250 people were conducted in the village on Tuesday, of which eight tested positive. The village has a population of nearly 4,000 and so far, just about 1,000 people have taken the Covid test.

The sarpanch said a school in the village had been converted into a basic healthcare facility to provide accommodation to poor Covid patients living in small houses or shanties. “The civil administration and Health Department workers distributed 100 ‘Fateh’ kits in the village. They also assured us of distributing free facemasks and holding a vaccination camp on Wednesday. We have displayed some posters at public places, giving information about the infected persons in the village. The entire village has been sanitised as well,” he added.

On the other hand, Ranjit Singh, a social activist from Gurusar village, located close to Bhundar village, said, “A large number of people called me on Tuesday to seal the entry point for outsiders and start keeping a vigil in the village. We fear that a similar situation may occur in our village. Last year too, we had sealed the entry points of the village as a preventive measure. Residents of some other neighbouring villages too are planning to do the same.”