In less than a month since the first infection of COVID-19 was reported at the small town of Islampur in Sangli district, all 25 infected persons have tested negative for the virus by Monday. All of them will be kept in institutional quarantine for 14 days before they can return home. With this, Sangli has zero positive cases at present. Only another group of 24 people remain under quarantine, after a Sangli native tested positive in Navi Mumbai’s Apollo hospital on April 11. The man was living in Sangli before his health worsened due to liver cirrhosis. Doctors moved him to Navi Mumbai for treatment where he tested positive. Swabs of his 24 close contacts were collected Sunday in Sangli. They have all tested negative. In March, the district had reported third largest number of cases in the state after Mumbai and Pune. Although 25 is a small number to compare, but Sangli is now the only district in Maharashtra to have zero fatality and 100 per cent recovery rates. While the oldest COVID-19 patient in the district was a 63-year-old diabetic, the youngest was two years old. “What helped our case was swift enforcement of lockdown and isolation and testing of all suspected to have been infected,” said district health officer Dr Bhupal Shrirang Girigosav. The number of cases rose from four to 25 between March 23 and March 28. Within a week, 315-bed Miraj Government Medical College was converted into a COVID-19 hospital. It had its own ECHO machine, facility for CT scan, X-ray and MRI. The diabetic patient’s blood pressure and sugar levels were monitored each day. Swab samples were initially sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune. A testing facility was also started in Sangli to cut down on transportation delay. “We decided to ask each nurse to work for four hours every day for a week. Then they were given a break of 14 days and accommodated within the hospital premises. It was like a quarantine period to see if any nurse developed symptoms. Nobody did,” said Dr Pallavi Saple, dean in JJ hospital in Mumbai, who was sent on deputation to Sangli. The first four to test positive had returned from a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia on March 13. By March 23, they tested positive. Nineteen members in their family also tested positive, including a Kolhapur relative. Further, two domestic helps working in their house tested positive. More than 493 people, suspected to be low-risk contacts, were kept under a strict house quarantine. Their hands were stamped with home quarantine mark. Ration and vegetables were home delivered to them by police and local volunteers. On March 23, the district came under a brutal lockdown — all pharmacies and grocery shops were shut and an area of 700 m around the house of the infected was sealed. Around 50 healthcare workers began the arduous exercise of door-to-door visits to 1,100 houses to look for people showing symptoms. The local police said its only job was to ensure people remain at home. Phone numbers were shared freely so the residents could call for help. A hostel building was converted into a quarantine facility on the outskirts of the town. The 25 people discharged from Miraj hospital will be kept there for 14 days before they can go home. “We are glad nobody else tested positive in our neighbourhood. The health officials helped us a lot, sat with us for a long time to make a list of all the people we met,” said a 31-year-old, who tested positive. Sangli Guardian Minister Jayant Patil, also the water resource minister, praised the Sangli administration last week for containing the virus spread. Patil called the three-pronged approach - isolate, identify cluster and strictly enforce social distancing as the "Islampur model". Dr Saket Patil, taluka health officer in Islampur, said he is still remaining vigilant. “The 493 low-risk contacts have finished their 14-day home quarantine. None developed symptoms. We are now afraid of people who will return from Mumbai to Sangli once the lockdown lifts,” he added. He has a list of 144 people who have travelled from Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata and other cities to Sangli in the last one week. “They are under home quarantine and we are monitoring them,” he said.
