Why Bengaluru’s lauded model to fight coronavirus is suddenly unravelling

The Bengaluru model of Covid-19 containment and management — lauded nationally for its focus on contact-tracing and integration of technology — appears to be floundering under the burden of rapidly increasing cases. Daily case spikes in the hundreds have exposed chinks in hospital management, leaving health facilities crowded and needy patients in the lurch.
While confirmed Covid-19 patients are struggling to find a hospital bed, official data puts the city’s bed occupancy at just about 20%. So, where is Bengaluru going wrong?

Read our coronavirus live blog for all the latest news and updates
TOI found a range of factors, from poor contact tracing to unpreparedness on the part of authorities, leading to lapses in surveillance and bottlenecks in treatment, and consequently, increased fatalities.
BBMP, with support from ASHA workers, was doing a great job on contact-tracing about two months ago when the number of cases was in two digits. But after Unlock1.0, the number of cases increased drastically, derailing the process.
Coronavirus outbreak: Complete coverage
“When people were entering the city from other districts, states and countries, the cases were still under control as we were able to trace them easily,” BBMP chief health officer B Vijayendra said. With the easing of the lockdown, restrictions on inter-district and inter-state travel were relaxed.
More on Covid-19

Dept says B’luru wasn’t ready for massive spike
When a person tests positive, it is taking us longer to find out how he caught the virus and how many he may have passed it on to,” Vijayendra admitted.
Besides, patients take their own time to tell the truth, he pointed out, while many also provided false information, misleading authorities and wasting precious time.
While the government and BBMP attached importance to contact-tracing and conducting health surveys to monitor and curb the spread, they apparently failed to anticipate the rapid surge ahead of them and plan for management of cases.
“The city was not prepared for such a huge spike in daily cases. We initially guessed the cases would be around 20,000 maximum and could be controlled. This is shocking for us,” said a senior official from the health and family welfare department.
The numbers continued to rise even as officials set up containment zones, sealed localities and ramped up testing. “The rise in cases caught us off-guard and we were left pondering over the availability of beds. With many people including hospital staff turning positive, we had to close certain wards, which is the new challenge,” the official said.
In Video:Why Bengaluru’s lauded model to fight Covid-19 is suddenly unravelling