Covid positive residents of the state capital must either get official sanction for home isolation or move to a dedicated Covid care facility within 48 hours of testing, Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Chhavi Ranjan said on Thursday.

Chairing a meeting with all incident commanders in the district, Ranjan said that Covid patients in the district will not be allowed to stay in home isolation without the consent of the local Incident commander, who will inspect facilities available at the residence of the patient and then take a call accordingly.

Owing to a sudden spike in Covid cases, the district administration has decided to ensure strict adherence to home isolation norms, said Ranjan, adding that medical teams will inspect all patients in home isolation at least twice every week.

“Covid cases are rapidly rising in Ranchi, and we need to be ready with all details regarding the number of beds available in hospitals, Covid care facilities and isolation centres,” said Ranjan. “We need to ensure that all home isolation rules are followed before any Covid patient is allowed to stay at home,” he added.

Home isolation was not a default right of every Covid patient, but a privilege given only to those who fulfil all the parameters set by the government, officials said, clarifying that hospitalisation should be the ideal approach towards treating Covid patients in Jharkhand despite a crisis of hospital beds. Only asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients will be allowed home isolation, officials added.

Owing to the rise in cases, the deputy commissioner also directed that posters be put up outside homs of Covid patients. When Covid cases peaked in the state last year, the government started pasting warning posters outside the residence of infected people and used barricades to prohibit entry of outsiders in such properties.

“Start installing barricades and pasting posters outside houses of Covid patients as and when required,” Ranjan told the circle officers of Argora, Kanke and Badgain.

The deputy commissioner also directed teams in the district to hold surprise inspections of containment zones and ensure that the rules regarding containment zones are not flouted at any cost.

As per government data, Ranchi alone accounts for more than half the active Covid cases in Jharkhand. Of the 2,825 active patients in the state, at least 1,562 are residents of Ranchi. The active caseload here has skyrocketed from 198 in the last week of February to almost 1,600 now.