: 1500 Cases/Day to Zero: The IAS Behind Maharashtras 1st Covid-Free District #IndiaNEWS #Civil Servants Even amidst the devastating second wave of the pandemic, examples of COVID-19-free villages in

1500 Cases/Day to Zero: The IAS Behind Maharashtras 1st Covid-Free District #IndiaNEWS #Civil Servants
Even amidst the devastating second wave of the pandemic, examples of COVID-19-free villages in different corners of the country emerged. The Bhandara district of Maharashtra, comprising 800 villages and a population of 13 lakh, has set a new record of becoming COVID-free on August 6.
The success has been made possible by an IAS officer who overcame the crisis and on-ground challenges during the second wave of the pandemic to become the first district in Maharashtra in achieving the COVID-free status.
Sandeep Kadam took charge as a District Collector in August 2020 during the pandemic and, in April, started observing a spike in cases.
The condition worsened to the extent that the district became one of the worst-hit areas of central India by May 2021.
“On 12 April, the district reported 1,596 new cases, and on 1 May, 35 patients died in a day. The number of patients was so high that the district converted schools, wedding halls, community centres and government institutes into COVID-19 centres,??? Sandeep tells The Better India.
However, meticulous planning and strict management enabled the district to free the villagers from the bonds of COVID-19 in three months.
500 micro-containment zones
Bhandara district collector Sandeep Kadam instructing officials on COVID-19 protocols.
Micro-containment, relentless testing, tracing and treating of patients was what worked in favour of the district.
Speaking about how he achieved the feat, the 2008-batch IAS officer says, “The first step we took was to visit every village and conduct mass testing drives to check the community spread. Contact tracing does not yield too many results when the infection spreads among the masses. Hence, mass testing became our only solution. ???
Sandeep says the second step was to isolate the infected patients immediately. “The testing resulted in exposing all possible threats. At one point, the positive rate spiked up to 52 per cent. All the patients came under immediate isolation for 2-3 weeks. This decision helped us contain the spread of coronavirus,??? he adds.
Moreover, contact tracing helped in identifying the source of the infection. “It is difficult in a large number of cases, but we manage to identify if the sources were from within the district or outside,??? Sandeep says.
He says that another unique move he took was creating micro-containment zones, even for a single patient. “The government norms mentioned creating micro-containment zones in areas or localities where more than five cases get reported. However, the administration decided to declare such zones even when a single person is found positive. It helped curb the spread of the virus within neighbourhoods,??? Sandeep says, adding that at one point there were 500 such zones created in the district.

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