Determined to snap the chain of COVID-19 transmission, authorities in Rajasthan ’s Bhilwara have now imposed an aggressive 11-day-long “all down curfew” with even essential services being severely curtailed. The textile city, which had emerged as the State’s first hotspot of COVID-19 infection a fortnight ago, appears to have already had a measure of success in containing the spread of the novel coronavirus, with only one positive case detected during the last four days, and 17 of the 27 infected persons having recovered after treatment.
The containment efforts, which included an indefinite curfew that was clamped on March 20 even before the nationwide lockdown began, has had some tangible impact.
Nine of the 17 patients were discharged from the Mahatma Gandhi Government Hospital on Friday, followed by two on Saturday, after multiple tests confirmed their full recovery. “They have been advised home quarantine for 14 days as a precautionary measure,” Bhilwara District’s Chief Medical & Health Officer Mushtaq Khan told The Hindu on Saturday. “Even the person detected positive today is asymptomatic and was found in the house-to-house survey,” he added.
The infection had initially spread in Brijesh Bangar Memorial Hospital, a private hospital which has since been sealed, and all the cases in Bhilwara were those of the hospital staff, patients and their subsequent contacts. Kiran Kumar (name changed), who worked as medical ward in-charge at the hospital, said he had felt as if he had won a war after his discharge.
A physician from the hospital, currently recuperating at the Rajasthan University of Health Sciences in Jaipur, said though he was mentally stressed, the medical fraternity — to which he too belonged — had kept him motivated and given him the strength to recover. Sunita Shukla (named changed), a healthcare worker in the sealed hospital’s critical care unit, said the treatment in isolation had changed her outlook for life and made her a “better human being”.
M.G. Hospital’s Medical Superintendent Arun Gaur said the doctors’ team had resolved to “convert the pain into energy” and decided the treatment regimen for each patient after studying his or her history. “We still have patients in the isolation ward,” said Dr. Gaur. “Their blood tests, X-rays and echocardiography depict that they are on the way to recovery... We will overcome this phase,” he added.
Bhilwara Collector Rajendra Bhatt gave the nine persons, who had tested negative after recovering from the infection, a warm send-off by presenting them with roses. He said the administration was working on the two fronts of identification of patients and containing the spread of the virus. No person would be allowed to step out of home in the city of 4 lakh people till April 13, with special arrangements having been made to provide essential services at the doorstep, he said.
Of the 6,800 people who were home quarantined, 4,300 have completed the mandatory two-week isolation. The district administration has acquired hotels, resorts, hostels and dharamshalas in the town to arrange 1,500 quarantine beds and 14,400 normal beds to meet an emergency situation.
Preeti Pareek, a homemaker residing in Rama Vihar locality, said the vans of Sahakari Upbhokta Bhandar had started making rounds of the city to supply milk, vegetables, grocery and other essentials. “As citizens, it is our duty to assist the administration in this health emergency. It is for our own benefit... My family has decided to restrict our unnecessary activities for a few days.”
While all curfew passes, issued since March 20, had been cancelled and the district’s borders sealed, a 3,000-strong police force, along with the home guards and the State Disaster Response Force personnel, was enforcing the curfew, which started on Friday. Superintendent of Police Harendra Mahawar said a flag march was also conducted on the city’s roads on Friday.
Bhilwara Municipal Council chairperson Manju Chechani said the civic staff were geared up for maintaining cleanliness and dealing with sewage and garbage in all the 55 wards of the town. While the city’s spinning, weaving and printing units were closed, the municipal body would ensure sanitation in all areas, she said.
The textile industry in Bhilwara, which is known as India’s largest manufacturer of fabric, has come to a standstill. Synthetic and Weaving Mills’ Association Secretary Ramesh Agrawal said the yarn and cloth containers sent from the city for export had been stuck for several days at the Kandla port in Gujarat. Coupled with the closure of units, this would lead to huge losses for the industry, as yarn worth ₹1,200 crore and fabric worth ₹600 crore is exported annually from Bhilwara.
