Karnataka: Clusterwise lockdown helped Kalaburagi contain spread

KALABURAGI: For as many as 13 consecutive days after its third Covid-19 case was reported, Kalaburagi, the divisional headquarter of Kalayana Karnataka, has not witnessed any positive case. This has set the mood of optimism in the district that hogged the headlines in mid-March when the first death in India due to coronavirus infection was reported from the region.
It appears that in the district, which was described as the epicentre of outbreak, the administration is successfully containing the spread of the virus.According to officials, unprecedented measures taken early on, much ahead of the nationwide lockdown, and relatively faster identification of primary and secondary contacts might have helped Kalaburagi tackle the situation effectively.
Apart from two active cases and one death, no fresh cases have been reported from the district for 13 days straight. The last positive case reported was on March 17. It was felt that time bomb was ticking in the district with the doctor who treated the first case also testing positive. The situation now seems to be very much under control.
Kalaburagi now has its own testing laboratory. Among the 100 samples dispatched for testing, 63 have shown negative, bringing a huge relief to people and the administration under the leadership of deputy commissioner Sharath B that has been fighting a tough battle since the outbreak.
Health workers have extensively surveyed 7,827 houses till March 29. This is to be continued with the same rigour, said the officials. The authorities had locked down the cluster, besides sealing the district borders.
Two containment zones were created — one where the 76-year-old man, the first positive patient, resided and another where the doctor who treated him lived. These containment zones were locked down, banning the movement of people. Nearly 2,000 people are under observation and 33 are in hospital isolation. Among these 743 with foreign travel history self-reported, highlighting community participation.
Srinivas Kakkilaya, a Mangaluru-based medical practitioner, said Kalaburagi is perhaps showing the way by taking appropriate and timely measures to contain the spread of coronavirus. “Rather than nationwide lockdown, cluster or sector-wise quarantine is the need of the hour. This method helped in Kalaburagi,” he opined.