E-Paper
Fear, shame and isolation: Lockdown in Maha’s virus hot-spot, Islampur, has 5K residents in eye of storm
The people in our area started behaving in a certain way with us. On the day the first four were tested positive, general stores stopped selling to people of our community, say members of the family
Metal barricades have rendered the Uran Islampur area in Sangli into a ghost-town.
One extended family that lives here contributed to 24 of Maharashtra’s Covid-19 (coronavirus) positive cases.
Four family members, including two females – ages 62 and 50; and two males – ages 65 and 35; landed in Delhi on the morning of March 13 returning from a pilgrimage (Umrah) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
They had booked a package for 24 days, but had completed only 20 days of the Umrah.
The family then flew to Mumbai the same evening and drove went straight home to Islampur, Sangli. The four reached home on March 14.
Life ever since has been a never-ending series of tests, lockdowns and hospitalisations for the family and residents of Islampur.
“The people in our area started behaving in a certain way with us. On the day the first four were tested positive, general stores stopped selling to people of our community. Our family is suffering. How are we to blame for this?” said a family member who runs a local business, has tested negative, and is in an institutional quarantine facility set up by the local authorities.
“My parents are not educated people. And they’re old. If you ask them what quarantine or coronavirus means, they might not be able to tell you. At Delhi airport, as well as Mumbai airport, only thermal temperature testing happened. They were not informed about the situation or what precautions they needed to take, or even taken into quarantine. They reached home early on March 14 and the next day we took them to our family doctor. The doctor referred us to Islampur government hospital, who in turn referred us to Sangli Civil hospital,” said another young man from the family, who is a software engineer based in Pune.
“There, they were given flu medicine twice. On March 21 got more medicine. However, as the flu conditions were not improving we took them to Islampur government hospital where we were told to go to Sangli Civil Hospital on Sunday morning (March 22). That is when the entire process started,” said the young man.
The joint family lives in three houses in the Gandhi chowk area of Islampur. Positive patients were found in all three households.
The family members had allegedly visited a bank, the municipal corporation, hospital and the local masjid, all of which have been sealed shut, according to Dr Saket Patil, taluka health officer.
“We acted as soon as we could, without wasting any time. My team has maintained a map of their movements and marked out the core area which includes the family houses and the two maids’ houses, and buffer zone where they may have visited. My team is working continuously and has managed to contain the spread,” said Dr Patil.
“One of them came into the bank, from what I know. Our house has been sealed shut for the past few days. The shops that were open for some days were shut down during the three-day severe lockdown. Now we just stay inside and wait for milk and groceries to be delivered,” says Chandrashekar Pawar, whose household of seven shares a wall with the MD Pawar People’s Bank, where a Covid +ve family member visited.
“There is no strict distinction between secondary and tertiary contacts of the family. So far, there is no provision for swan testing of secondary and territory contacts,” said chief surgeon at Sangli Civil hospital, Dr Salunkhe.
The Islampur area is divided into three– the core zone, where the three houses of the infected family are located; a buffer zone where they are suspected to have roamed; and the rest of the area.
Pawar’s house falls in the buffer zone where one member of each family is provided with the home quarantine stamp.
The entire sealed area has 5,000 people living within, according to Pradnya Potdar-Pawar, chief municipal officer, Islampur.
“There are 10 officers of the municipal council, including me, who are living in isolation, away from the family for the past few days. Nobody wants to come near Islampur, but my staff is on the road on all days, maintaining cleanliness. The garbage from Islampur is not going to the usual dumping yard, but to Surya Biomedical Agency where it is incinerated. Continuous fogging and spraying of sodium hypochlorite is on. My city has risen to the challenge and we will get through this,” said Potdar-Pawar.
The administration has set up a 75-bed isolation facility on the outskirts of Islampur which lodges 28 people who have come in contact with positive cases, according to Dr Saket Patil, taluka health officer.
Of the 28, 18 have tested negative, 10 are yet to be tested.
The authorities are also tracking 434 people from 79 families who were identified as secondary and tertiary contacts of the infected family.
Police action
-The Sangli police, along with health department officials, are tracking 434 people whose houses are marked with a quarantine notice.
- The Islampur police station officials have appointed 28 special police officers (SPO) who help enforce the lockdown.
- A case has been registered against one of the 24-infected family members for giving an allegedly false statement about having made contact with a neighbour with whom he had an old disagreement, according police inspector Narayan Deshmukh.
Municipal council action
- Regular fogging and spraying of sodium hypochlorite in open areas.
-Home delivery of essential goods like vegetables, groceries and milk .
- Garbage from Islampur is not going to the usual dumping yard, but to Surya Biomedical Agency where it is incinerated.
-Gutters are cleaned more regularly than usual.
-All sanitation workers are provided with masks and latex gloves.
