More on Covid-19

KOLHAPUR: Islampur, a small town off the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Sangli district, has shown how the creation of cluster containment zones is effective in curbing the spread of Covid-19.Panic gripped the town of 70,000 residents when four people from a family tested positive for the infection on March 23. Now, almost 17 days later, there have been just 26 cases, all limited to the contacts of the original four patients. There has been no spread in the larger community. By Wednesday, nine of the 26 patients had recovered.When the first cases came in positive, the Sangli district administration swung into action and formed a district rapid response team (DRRT). This team had to identify the close contacts of the first four cases in Islampur town. The area within a one-km radius of their residence was declared a containment zone.Sangli district collector Abhijeet Chaudhary said, “We identified 53 high-risk and 436 low-risk contacts. Symptomatic contacts were shifted to isolation and tested, while asymptomatic close contacts were put in institutional quarantine.”Chaudhary said the guidelines for setting up containment zones were already in place. “There were around 1,608 families, with over 7,600 citizens, residing in the zone. An additional buffer zone, again of a one-km radius, was created. There was only a single entry-exit point,” he said.Overnight, the market area in Islampur town was barricaded. Saurabh Kabure , a college student who lives in the lane adjacent to the Covid-19 positive family, said their area is always bustling. Most houses in this middle- and upper-middle class locality share walls.“As soon as the administration got to know about the four patients, the whole area was barricaded and the staff began sanitation activities the same night,” he said.Kabure said they faced some problems in the first two days, but proper planning of each ward has since been done for the supply of groceries, milk and vegetables. He said they were told to contact the police station in case of any medical emergency.All vehicles coming out of the zone had to go through disinfection. In the buffer zone, only one person from each family was allowed to step out for essentials. To make residents aware of the steps being taken, information booklets were given to each family.At the same time, Sangli district civil surgeon Sanjay Salunkhe and his team had their task cut out. They had started tracing and mapping the contacts. “There were as many as 31 health squads surveying the zone for possible infected persons. It served the purpose,” he said.Health workers in the surveillance teams went door-to-door to gather details of the number of people in a house, their ages, gender and health status, including any underlying conditions.Finally, it is the police who are keeping a close watch on the movement within the locality.Sangli superintendent of police said it was a learning curve for them. “The catastrophe we are witnessing now and actions expected are unprecedented. With proper management from the administration, we are working it out well,” he said.The area is still a containment zone and remains under the close watch of the district administration and police, but the residents have accepted it.