Pandemic Management In Rajasthan

As of 5 July 2020, the tally of total cases in the Indian state of Rajasthan was 19,756, with 3,640 active cases and 453 deaths. Jaipur has been the worst affected district, with a total of 3,481 cases, while Bundi has been the least affected, with just 15 cases. The first COVID-positive patient in Rajasthan was an Italian tourist. Immediately, extensive rounds of meetings were held for preparedness, since a group of Italians (of which the infected tourist was a part) had visited many tourist spots. Thereafter, Section 144 was imposed in the state, and rapid response teams were given the task of keeping the public informed, through command centers.

While early containment measures involved monitoring Chinese travelers, the strategy turned holistic with the lockdown in place. The first steps after the curfew were door-to-door surveys conducted by a team of teachers, Anganwadi workers, and local body members. Based on surveys, medical teams were sent to suspected areas for testing. All the government schools, hostels, and colleges were converted into Quarantine Centers with a proper distinction between migrants and local residents. The lockdown meant difficulty in accessing the essential services, both in urban and rural areas. While the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) aided the government with urban needs, mid-day meal ration was distributed in packets in rural areas. However, in reality, this has not been very successful at the block level where this system works in a highly top-down fashion with block officials, sarpanchs, and volunteer teams involved. So, only a limited list of people is given to the top tier of local administration which fails to reflect real needs at this level.

A Drug Supply Control Room was set up for an uninterrupted supply of essential medicines. The government partnered with startup Medcords which through its integrated apps –‘Aayu’ and 'Sehat’ provided 24x7 online consultations and medicine delivery. Raj COVID Info app, which is the engagement medium for those quarantined and provides all press releases, has been developed. Testing capacity has risen to 25,000 per day and is expected to further expand to 40,000. The state has 81 dedicated COVID hospitals. The state has been successful in keeping about 17.65 lakh people under home quarantine, thanks to the extensive door-to-door surveys. There has been an emphasis on non-COVID healthcare like immunization, maternal, and child care. However, no mental health helplines have been instituted by the government. The following graph represents the total number of confirmed cases, active cases, recoveries, and deaths (as on May 20, 2020) :

Source : Rajswasthya.nic.in

To insulate the frontline workers against COVID, cleaning staff, constables, Anganwadi workers, and gram sevaks were added to the list of the healthcare workers’ insurance of 50 lakh in case of death by COVID. Cash transfer of 1000 rupees and 1500 rupees was initiated to construction workers, laborers, BPL categories through the Aadhaar database. Corona War Room Helpline was also instituted to contact migrant and stranded workers. It registered names of workers wishing to move in or out of Rajasthan on Jansuchna Portal for records. Some districts saw a rise in daily cases due to the return of migrants but there was no cluster formation due to the micro-planning done at villages and sub-divisions.

On the education front, the government launched Project SMILE (Social Media Interface for Learning Engagement) to connect students (I-XII) and teachers online. All Elementary Education Officers at Panchayat level (PEEOs) were directed to create separate WhatsApp groups for teachers and students. Every day the study material prepared by the Education Department in text/audio-video form is uploaded on both the groups by PEEOs and feedback is received from the 20,000 WhatsApp groups created to date. ShikshaVani program and Shiksha Darshan have been launched on Akashvani and Doordarshan respectively for better reach in rural areas. These programs have been able to fill the gaps of Project SMILE - internet connection and mobile availability issues in rural areas.

Bhilwara district and Ramganj area in Jaipur have been in COVID headlines for opposite reasons. While the Bhilwara model gained traction for its ruthless containment strategy, the rising figures in the Ramganj area and failure to control them baffled many. The epicenter of the virus in Bhilwara was a private hospital where a doctor became positive on 19 March. The administration cordoned off the hospital, conducted door-to-door surveys at all houses (>22 lakh) with intense contract tracing. The survey was backed by the total lockdown of the district with sealed borders and essential services being delivered at the doorstep. Most of those suspected were placed in home quarantine and monitored regularly. After an intense curfew, cases reduced considerably. This model became a nationwide inspiration however; such a ruthless containment strategy can be implemented only in places of low density with ease of social distancing. It is difficult to adopt this model in slums and bigger cities. This is the primary reason why this model couldn’t be implemented in the Ramganj area; a densely populated locality. Trouble began on March 12 when an infected Oman returnee flouted home quarantine and kept meeting people. By the time his results came back, the situation had gotten out of hand with several infected, making Ramganj a COVID hotspot. The area was completely sealed with barricades in place. Surveying and testing got delayed because teams faced a lot of resistance and non-cooperation from the residents initially. However, the administration divided the area into clusters and contained the spread within.

While frontline workers were insulated, some faced acute difficulties. The teachers who constituted a major part of the survey, quarantine, and other COVID teams were hardly given any protective equipment and were literally left to fend for themselves. This pandemic exposed the paucity of coordination among various tiers of administration when many SDMs deputed teachers to non-teaching and non-essential COVID duties despite receiving orders in negative from the Chief Secretary. Another misjudgment was the resumption of State Board exams in June. It led to instances where even after guarantees of proper screening, infected students have appeared for exams, putting hundreds of people at risk, and students from hotspots like Ramganj have written exams because of unclear guidelines. This mirrors the short-sightedness and negligence of the government that deemed examinations so necessary that they had to be conducted during a pandemic.

Apart from these shortcomings, the state flared well; such that it topped the COVID Management Index analyzed by the Center. It led a two-pronged approach of containment and welfare with precision even though unpopular opinion credits low population density of the state for its success.

References-

1. https://covidinfo.rajasthan.gov.in/index.php

2. https://www.asiancommunitynews.com/disaster-management-in-rajasthan-a-case-study-around-covid-19-pandemic-2020/

3. https://practiceconnect.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/containment-and-welfare-rajasthans-two-pronged-response-to-covid-19/

4. https://caravanmagazine.in/labour/weakening-state-apparatus-fails-workers-and-farmers-in-jharkhand-and-rajasthan

5. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-bhilwara-model-ruthless-containment-stop-coronavirus-6350395/

6. https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/apr/08/failure-to-replicate-bhilwara-model-makes-jaipur-next-coronavirus-hotspot-in-rajasthan-2127546.html

7. https://www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/rajasthan-government%E2%80%99s-response-covid-19-till-april-26

8. https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/jun/03/rajasthan-government-school-teachers-told-to-entertain-covid-19-quarantined-patients-2151568.html

9. https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/students-teachers-test-positive-after-rajasthan-board-exams/story-lRCnGBg6KS0TlNu0q7UJ8L.html

By-

Akshita Pareek is an undergraduate student pursuing Psychology and Sociology at Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi. She calls herself a poet, newspaper geek, and dog-lover. She has been fascinated by policy-making since school and has finally written her first policy-related article today. (akshita.pareek@gmail.com)