Bhandara first Covid-free district in Maharashtra

NAGPUR: The Bhandara district on Friday became the first district in Maharashtra to become Covid-free. The lone under-treatment patient in the district for the last three days was declared recovered on Friday morning.
Bhandara has been reporting no new cases for the last three days despite conducting an average 600 tests daily. It took 15 months for the district to get the Covid-free status.

Bhandara was one of the worst-hit parts of the state during the second wave of Covid-19 with more than 12,800 patients under treatment on April 18. It is a huge number for a rural and tribal dominated district with overall population of less than 15 lakh. With limited medical facilities, the district saw oxygen and hospital bed shortage during the second wave.
According to district collector Sandeep Kadam, they strictly followed the three-pronged strategy of ‘testing, tracing and treatment’.
The district did a good job in controlling the first wave and the spread was well under control till mid-February this year, he said.
During the second wave, Bhandara was one of the worst-hit districts. On April 12, we reported the highest 1,500+ new cases. More than 12,800 patients were under treatment at a time. Now, this number is zero, said collector Sandeep Kadam.
Giving credit to the “collective effort of the administration and cooperation from citizens”, he said that though there are zero active patients in the district today, the administration and citizens need to stay vigilant. Even the slightest negligence will not work. Against the backdrop of the projected third wave, the rules need to be followed more responsibly,” said Kadam appealing to people to wear masks, wash hands and follow physical distancing.
Bhandara’s civil surgeon Dr Riyaz Farooqui was hopeful that the district will continue to remain Covid-free. “If people continue to cooperate, we can remain Covid-free for a longer period. The last three days have seen zero new cases. In July, there were zero cases on more than 10 days. Mask and physical distancing are the keys to continue this status,” he said.
Dr Farooqui further said that his department is ready to face challenge from the projected third wave. “We can delay the third wave if we continue to be cautious. The more it is delayed, lesser will be impact of the third wave,” he said.