In a wide departure from existing practices, the civic body will now seal a building only after more than 20 per cent of households report at least one Covid case each. Until now, such an action is taken if a building reports more than five cases on different floors. Officials said it causes much inconvenience to the residents and a more pragmatic approach is the need of the hour.

The BMC had brought out the rules to seal slums and high-rises during the first phase of the lockdown. Initially, the corporation sealed whole buildings and complexes, in some cases nearby high-rises as well, even after one case was registered. After strong opposition from citizens, it revised the rule and sealed only the floor if the number of cases was less than five and sealed the wing if cases were more than five and on multiple floors.