Fresh clusters trigger panic
Residents of apartment complexes in Bengaluru are once again tightening precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, even while colleges have opened and restrictions have been eased in restaurants, theatres, etc. The detection of new clusters in the city in the last fortnight, especially in Yelahanka, and the rise in COVID-19 cases in neighbouring Kerala and Maharashtra have residents worried.
Though the numbers are not alarming, apartment associations say they do not want to take any chances for fear of a second wave. Many complexes have yet to open club houses and other recreational facilities to residents, while others are not allowing vendors inside the premises for deliveries.
R. Rajagopalan, residents’ association member of L&T South City at Arekere, said residents of the complex, which has 1,998 flats, are not allowed to sit on benches in the open spaces, let alone congregate. “Since March, when the lockdown was imposed, the club house has remained shut. We have not held any physical general body meeting. We recently opened up the sports facilities, but with restrictions,” he said.
At Surabhi Apartment, which is near SNN Raj Lakeview — the apartment complex at Bilekahalli where a total of 108 residents tested positive — the club house, swimming pool, and gym continue to remain closed. “We wanted to allow door delivery by different vendors from March 1. However, with cases being reported in the apartment nearby, we have deferred this for another two months,” Sachin Mundade, president of the RWA, said, and added that the gym would be opened only from March 15. Here too, no get-togethers or parties are being allowed, either in the common areas or in the flats.
Apart from mandatory temperature checks for helpers and residents, the association of Century Corbel Apartment at Sahakarnagar takes a call on requests to use the common party hall on a case-by-case basis. Deliveries are also allowed only till the security gate and residents have to go pick up their packages from there themselves, said Sindhu Hegde, association president.
Despite these residents’ associations taking stringent measures, the Bangalore Apartments’ Federation, an umbrella organisation for 911 apartment associations in the city, believes that there is no reason to panic. Vikram Rai from the federation, however, said general precautions that were in place earlier should continue to be imposed.
“At the community level, ensuring that residents wear masks, sanitisation of common areas, and taking the temperatures of those entering the apartment at the gate are important. Such measures should continue. That said, there is no necessity for extreme measures to be put in place,” he said, and added that an advisory would be issued by the BAF to its members soon.
Source: Read Full Article