The novel coronavirus COVID-19’s ability to put our lives to a standstill has been quite surreal. Looking at drones doing aerial shots of nearly-empty cities, we all wonder when the lockdown will go on till, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing that the current lockdown has been extended till May 3.
PM Modi also announced that post April 20, lockdown rules will be relaxed in certain places that aren’t earmarked as red zones. You can check the list of hotspots that the centre has marked in the article below.
While several parts of the country are still battling coronavirus, some parts of the country need to be praised for the way that they have flattened the curve.
Bhilwara district: Bhilwara had become one of the hotspots of the outbreak, registering 27 positive cases and two deaths.The city has so far not reported any new case in the past 10 days, and the credit can go to the administration headed by Rajendra Bhatt and his team that comprises IAS officer Tina Dabi.
While the data is definitely something to write home about, Bhatt told The Print that it would be premature to celebrate. “I want to complete three cycles of isolation, testing and quarantining before we claim victory,” Bhatt said.
IAS officer Tina Dabi told News 18 in an interview that the situation in the state could ‘have easily gone the other way.’
Notably, Bhilwara had issued a total lockdown days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued the 21-day lockdown. On March 20, the district administration called for shutting of all shops, and asking people not to panic.
Dabi said that they realised that Bhilwara had the potential to become the next hotspot after several medical practitioners had tested positive in the city. Realising that they had come in contact with several people, and fearing that the disease would spread quickly, the administration acted fast and implemented a total lockdown.
Following this, an aggressive screening process was conducted, which began with the medical staff and their families, and eventually everyone in the city.
The Bhilwara model, Dabi feels, should be employed in other districts across the country as well to curb the spread of the virus.
Chandrapur district: Maharashtra may account for the most COVID-19 cases in the country, but a small district that shares a border with Nagpur and Yavatmal has not reported a single case, despite the two districts reporting a combined 33 COVID-19 positive cases, the Indian Express reported Tuesday.
Chandrapur district, the area in question, has introduced a unique system that enforces social distancing. The administration has a pass system that assigns dates on which one member of a family can step out.
To explain this, the report cited an example of Ballarpur, the second largest city in the district that has 22,000 families. The families have been divided into five groups, each of which has been assigned a colour-coded pass, which specifies the dates on which the pass-holder can go out to buy groceries and other essential item.
According to the report, the pass is valid for one family member (whose photo is on the pass) and valid only between 11.30 am and 4 pm. The idea arose after people began crowding at areas when shops would open, prompting officials to think of a unique way to prevent the disease from spreading.
Kerala: Kerala was the first state in the country to report coronavirus. That person, a migrant worker who had returned from China, the origin point of the virus, tested positive. He eventually recovered. Today, Kerala has reported 387 coronavirus cases in the state. However, in the past week, the state has reported either 0 or 1 case per day, which has been a brilliant turnaround.
Global media including the BBC and Washington Post have covered this story, hailing the state’s robust public health system that saw village councils taking it upon themselves to ensure mass quarantine.
But what did Kerala do? For starters, the state imposed the lockdown a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the nationwide announcement on March 25. The state also set up helplines, as well as COVID-19 care centres to accommodate those outsiders who were stuck.
Lakshadweep: While nobody talks about the union territory Lakshadweep, one must take into account that zero COVID-19 cases have been reported from here. In fact, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare hasn’t even mentioned it in its state and UT tracker for COVID-19. The News Minute on April 4 had done an article saying that despite its poor healthcare facilities (Government hospitals in the union territory cannot accommodate more than 20 patients at a time), Lakshadweep had imposed a partial lockdown on March 22 and a total lockdown on March 25, following PM Modi’s speech.
The island has also stopped the entry of cruise ships from entering into the island. People coming from Kerala had to first quarantine themselves for four days before they boarded the ship to the islands.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands: The virus spread to the islands after members of the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Nizamuddin dispersed to different parts of the country. At the time, Andaman and Nicobar islands had 11 reported cases of coronavirus-positive patients. Today, 10 of them have been cured and are in quarantine, showcasing the quick reaction time by the authorities in the island regarding the lockdown.
Nagaland: Nagaland had one reported case and the patient was immediately sent to Assam. Since then, Nagaland has carefully followed the lockdown rules and unlike neighbouring Assam and Meghalaya, has not considered reopening wine shops for public.
