On Thursday, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot took to spreading the messaging around quarantine and said that the Rajasthan administration would work hard to ensure that the 8 districts which had shown no cases would remain unaffected.
The Free Press Journal's Sangeeta Pranvendra asked CM Gehlot during an interaction: "8 districts of Rajasthan have still not registered a single COVID19 case. What procedures will be adopted to ensure that they remain safe? Why are numbers increasing so rampantly in Jaipur? How responsible is the Tablighi Jamaat in the spread of the disease?"
While answering questions about the 8 districts and cases in Jaipur, he tactically avoided commenting on the cases of Tablighi Jamaat members in the state. Other states have found different ways to deal with that particular cluster. While the term Single Source is used in Tamil Nadu, Kejriwal's AAP government uses the moniker Special Operations.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Gehlot said that they would continue to follow the Bhilwara model and ensure that the 8 districts which were unaffected remained so.
He warned that a single person could spread the disease, pointing to South Korea’s infamous Patient 31, who reportedly spread the disease to over 5000 people.
He argued that it was imperative for both print and social media help spread the message to remain vigilant. He also said that people from all races and religions needed to work together to counter the disease.
On increasing cases in Jaipur, he said the disease initially spread due to the lackadaisical attitude of those who had come from abroad. He said increase in cases were seen in some high-density areas and the number of cases would eventually go down.
He also warned against treating quarantine as punishment, saying that it wasn’t the same as being arrested. He added that was no issue with home quarantining.
He added that Rajasthan would flatten the curve and the peak would flatten eventually.
