How Kalimpong tackled Covid-19..... Centre hails ‘containment and lockdown’ strategy in hill district

Workers sanitise the premises of a private hospital earmarked as a quarantine centre in Kalimpong.File picture

Vivek Chhetri, TT, 20.04.20, Kalimpong: The Centre on Saturday acknowledged the “containment and lockdown” strategy in Kalimpong district where the Covid-19 pandemic had peaked with 11 positive cases, including the first death from the disease in north Bengal on March 30.

“Twenty two new districts in 12 states have not reported any fresh cases in the past 14 days. If we continue to work on the containment and lockdown strategy in this manner at the district level, we think such positive results will continue to come,” an official of the Press Information Bureau said at a media conference and named Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri districts in Bengal for their good work in preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus.

A Kalimpong woman who had returned from Chennai was the first Covid-19 patient in the hill district. She died on March 30. Some of her relatives in Jalpaiguri had come in contact with the woman before her death.

A total of 46 people were quarantined and they have all tested negative for Covid-19.

The Telegraph spoke to a cross-section of the society to delve into the strategy adopted in Kalimpong to contain the disease, even though experts have clearly warned that these are early days to lower guard.

Being responsible

Many believe residents of Kalimpong went into a self-lockdown mode. This is not to say that no one stepped out of their houses. “Personally, I had always thought that the pandemic would start from tea gardens and rural areas because of migrant workforce,” said a resident of Kalimpong who did not want to be named.

The first person with the disease used to stay in the heart of Kalimpong town. “I guess everyone was shell-shocked. That is why Kalimpong went into a self-lockdown mode,” he added.

Local people also donned the role of vigilante right from restricting the entry of outsiders to informing officials about people’s movement.

“I used to receive quite a lot of calls from the locals informing me about people’s movement. We had a team of 300 health workers who constantly monitored people in home quarantine,” said a district official.

A source in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration said 4000-odd migrants had been kept in home quarantine upon their return to the hills.

Kerala model

Kerala has been singled out for its efficiency in handling the pandemic. People who were advising GTA head Anit Thapa said he had been regularly informed about the feedback from Kerala.

Source said efforts had been made to form a team of volunteers, like in the southern state, and start a community kitchen. The kitchen was set up to feed stranded migrant workers and those kept at quarantine centres. “Establishment of the community kitchen could help restrict the movement of migrant people in search of food,” said an administrative official.

The GTA was also prodded into coming up with daily bulletins to stop rumour-mongering. “We were told that the Kerala chief minister held a daily briefing on the pandemic and that stopped the spread of false news,” said a source.

Thorough work

The administration tried to trace all those who came in contact with the Covid-19 patient and they were classified as primary and secondary contacts. “It was a massive exercise. We first went to the woman’s house (who later died) and told them: for the next three-four hours, please remain cool, think hard and list out all the people the family was in contact with,” said an official.

Unlike other places where suspected patients hid information about their contacts, in Kalimpong, the family gave all details. The officials said they faced a nightmare when a maid of the family had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. “This is because she used to work at three other houses,” said an officer.

Tracking from pujaris to washerman and their probably contacts was a massive exercise that was carried in three to four days, the sources said.

Around 500 people were kept at home quarantine, while 62 were put up at dedicated quarantine centres.

Tough and soft stand

The officials said the administration had to adopt both tough and soft stand as some were unwilling to go to quarantine centres. “Those who knew about the pandemic well voluntarily agreed to go to the quarantine centre. People who had little knowledge about the disease were reluctant and then, we had to seek the help of the police,” another official said.

District and block level task forces worked round-the-clock to ensure that every suspect was monitored and even intelligence bureau was activated to verify cases. “Some primary suspects wanted to stay in home quarantine but the administration was firm that they needed to be under institutionalised surveillance,” said a source.

Thapa presence

Many resident have said Anit Thapa’s decision to shift his base from Kurseong to Kalimpong also helped in better coordination. “It sent a positive message. Importantly, it was easy to coordinate between the GTA and the Kalimpong district administration. Many spot decisions could be taken,” said an official.

The role of Kalimpong civic chairman Rabi Pradhan has also been lauded. “The young team led by Kalimpong civic chairman was proactive,” said a local resident. Thapa left Kalimpong only after all the 46 quarantined people had tested negative.

Geography advantage

The officials also pointed out the geographic advantage of Kalimpong. The hill district is landlocked with natural boundaries and the entry points are few.

“Because of this advantage, we could easily monitor the movement of people. I guess other districts don’t have this advantage,” said an official.

Sources said plans were afoot to ensure stringent measures on entry to Kalimpong. “We cannot afford to be complacent despite these good developments,” said Thapa.

(Courtesy, source and link- The Telegraph- https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/west-bengal/how-kalimpong-tackled-covid-19/cid/1766345?ref=west-bengal_home-template )