coronavirus

Bengaluru

Covid-19

masks

hand sanitiers

lockdown

Whitefield apartment complex locked down after B’luru’s first Covid case, is virus-free nowSocial distancing can’t be highlighted enough as the only way to flatten the curve of thespread. And this apartment in, has become a model to be emulated, after successfully containing the spread of the virus.On March 8, residents of Citilights Rustique located in Whitefield came to know that three members of one family living in the building had testedpositive.First the US-returned techie turned positive and soon his wife and daughter tested positive too and they were moved to isolation wards.However, after the initial shock and horror, the panic was quelled by the concerted efforts of the apartment’s community, who put a plan of action in place. Remember, this was one of the first Covid-19 positive cases and the health department said that more than 2,666 primary and secondary contacts were being traced for the techie’s family and all of them were told to self-isolate as a precautionary measure. However, it was not an easy task as there are more than 600 apartment dwellers in these 160 flats.This was when this apartment complex committee came up with the idea of ‘isolating’ the entire apartment. But it was easier said than done. Most of the kids in the apartment would attend a nearby school (which was declared shut following the techie’s daughter tested Covid-19 positive.) testing of the techie’s daughter). Hence, they needed to be extra cautious.Anuj Pratap Singh, a resident of the apartment said, “As soon as we got to know about the positive case, we decided to act quickly. We identified the vulnerable people and entry and exit points to the complex. Next, we realised that the apartment complex employees, especially the security staff, had to be kept safe. They were provided with the necessary accessories likeand instructions that they needed to screen those who left and entered the apartment, and everyone coming in and going out, required the permission of the apartment office bearers.Meanwhile, the health department visited the techie’s house and disinfected it thoroughly. They also checked on the health status of all the residents in the apartment for the next few days. The apartment office bearers provided hand sanitisers to everyone. This was followed by locking up the common areas. Everyone was strictly told not to venture out of their homes and kids were not even allowed to come out to play. “We then decided to regulate the entry and exit points. If anyone had to go out for essential work, they had to first report to the apartment office bearers and only after clearance, they would be let out. Similarly while coming in, they would have to undergo a screening. Then, we had a lot of delivery guys entering our apartments. So, we created a designated area where these delivery guys could drop their stuff. The products would at first be sanitised and then their respective owners could pick them up. Our focus was that if there was any infection in the apartment, it would not spread to outsiders. Apartment dwellers were told that if they had cough or cold, they had to immediately report it to the in-house health desk at the apartment. They would be screened nad the case would be referred to the designated hospital,” said Singh.Meanwhile, the apartment office bearers said that they faced a number of challenges to implement the quarantine. It first started as a voluntary quarantine but soon it turned into a mandatory one. Initially, a few people were unable to understand the need for such abut once they were counselled, they agreed.Some of the kids had to go out of the apartment to write their exams and hence adequate care was taken especially when they were re-entering the apartment. “We also identified the critical areas. We used to disinfect the entire apartment twice a day and it was done with great attention to detail. Not even the lift buttons were spared. In each floor, three touch points were identified where the drop-in of delivery items could be done, and it was duly followed duly across 14 different blocks. Each block had four floors and 14X4 drop points where deliveries were to be made were identified.There was a separate drop point for every floor for milk, grocery and other items to be delivered and this was done to minimise the exposure to external vendors.On Saturday, the apartment block completed their 14-day quarantine period and everyone breathed a sigh of relief as there was no positive case. This apartment also turned out to be a test case for the entire country for successfully isolating themselves and containing the spread of the virus among the residents.A programme to salute all the health workers, BBMP and support staff was held on Saturday to thank them for their support through the fortnight. However, the challenge is far from over as now the apartment has to gear up to ensure that there is no threat of Covid-19 from outside. Hence, they have decided to continue their war-like efforts till March 31. “We are partially extending this till March 31, till which time no vendors and staff will be allowed to enter the apartment blocks except for certain emergencies which will be thoroughly monitored,” added Singh.