It has now been established that ruthless containment is the only way to beat COVID-19. On March 19, when six cases of COVID-19 were reported in Bhilwara district, we were left with no option but to declare a curfew.
There was a clear and present danger of Bhilwara entering the community transmission stage. The Brijesh Bangar Memorial Hospital in the city had become the epicentre of COVID-19 cases. Doctors and other health care workers had tested positive. The doctors had seen around 7,000 to 8,000 patients in the hospital, and possibly as many at their home clinics—and there was no record of the second set of patients. So, we estimated that at least 15,000 to 20,000 people had had direct contact with the hospital staff. If we had allowed people to move around and leave the district, we would have seen community transmission not only in Bhilwara, but also in other districts of Rajasthan and beyond state lines.
The borders of Bhilwara were sealed for private vehicles. Trains passed through, but did not stop in the district. Bus services were not allowed to function. Instructions were given to close all establishments employing more than 10 people. So, everything from industries to offices and brick kilns were shut down.
Initially, as the number of cases rose and Bhilwara accounted for majority of the cases in Rajasthan, it was extremely stressful for us. Bhilwara was being described as the Wuhan and Italy of Rajasthan. And, it was not a wrong assessment. The doctors at the Bangar Hospital had seen thousands of patients, and we had no means of tracking them down. My team and I did not go home for around a week as we rolled out containment measures.
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