As the number of cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 continue to rise in India, Rajasthan’s Bhilwara has had the enviable position of being the only city with a high number of cases to show a decline in new infections.
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.
