Image credit: PIRO4D (Pixabay)
The diamond cutting and polishing hubs in Surat are once again turning into COVID-19 hotspots as infections continue to spike in the city. This was revealed by the health department of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), according to a report in TOI.
City health officials believe that in the current scenario the diamond industry will have to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) strictly to curb the increasing cases, to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.As per the report, health officials claimed that a congested working environment and not wearing masks is causing the spread of the infection. Diamond trading usually happens in open areas, but social distancing is missing. Diamond trading offices and polishing units do not have proper ventilation due to security reasons while staff members sit very close to each other. “There is a continuous and sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in diamond hubs of the city. Earlier, the spike was in areas having textile units and attempts were made to keep check-in those areas,” said a senior health official in SMC. Out of a total of 13,443 random tests done from March 14 to March 28, 398 people were found positive in these zones. “The diamond industry must strictly follow SOP laid out by SMC. We will speed up vaccination too in these areas,” said the official.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
