The Brain Behind Ruthless Model
This ruthless containment model adopted in Bhilwara was hailed countrywide for its success in breaking the chain of virus transmission. The district went from having 26 positive coronavirus cases to 0 in 10 days.
Bhilwara,the textile town of Rajasthan, had become one of the major hotspots of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country in March. Since then, an aggressive containment model created by the District Magistrate Rajendra Bhatt had been implemented throughout the district.
This ruthless containment model adopted in Bhilwara was hailed countrywide for its success in breaking the chain of virus transmission. Within 10 days, there were no new positive cases in Bhilwara.
The district went from having 26 positive coronavirus cases to 0 in 10 days.
The Logical Indian reached out to the District Magistrate Rajendra Bhatt to enquire about his hugely lauded success.
"The first two three cases were of doctors who saw about 10,000 people while they were infected. It was a state of uncertainty and community spread was written on the wall. There was widespread fear about Bhilwara becoming another Italy, because we only had the record of about 7,000 people they saw in the hospital, while over 3,000 people were examined at their homes, of which there was no record," the IAS officer said.
According to WHO guidelines, one person can infect upto 406 persons in a month's time. On understanding the severity of the situation, the District Magistrate requested the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, to sanction the immediate orders needed to put the plan to effect.
1: These actions included isolation of the entire district as the first step, which meant sealing all the district borders, discontinuing the railways and the roadways. The IAS officer coordinated with the administration of neighbouring districts to ensure the isolation of Bhilwara district.
2: The second step was mapping the clusters, and ensuring the 3 km area around the hospital strictly becomes a 'No Movement Zone', with harsh actions against any violators. 3 teams of 300 people carried out door to door screening, and aggressive testing, especially in the 6 identified hotspots.
3: A team of nearly 6,000 people was deployed in the rural area of the district which constitutes 1,910 villages. The team was timely scheduled with assignments to aggressively trace, test, and quarantine suspected people and ensure distancing. They also spread awareness about the protective measures that were needed to be taken.
4: The neighbours of the quarantined people were designated as 'Corona Fighters' whose work was to ensure that the infected stay isolated, their daily requirements get fulfilled, and keep reporting the authorities with updates on them.
5: Having enough space for isolation. "About 15,000 beds were needed to be used as isolation beds. The officials acquired hotels, dharamshalas, hostels, and various other institutions within the district to be used as quarantine wards. The district hospital was made a fully dedicated COVID-19 hospital. We also acquired 4 other private hospitals so that patients suffering from other conditions could go seek treatment. All of this was implemented from the 19th, along with a strict curfew from 20th onwards," the DM told The Logical Indian.
For more info: https://thelogicalindian.com/story-feed/awareness/bhilwara-dm-containment-strategy-20966
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