Coronavirus pandemic: How India’s most populated states are tackling COVID-19 crisis

A masked man stands for a thermal screening in a compound of a housing society. (Image credit: Shome Basu)

The novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 1.2 lakh people across the world in just a few months, spreads through human contact. One sure-fire way to contain the spread of the disease is to follow strict social distancing, which is being followed in most affected nations, including India.

But, in countries like India, strict social distancing becomes difficult to follow in densely populated pockets, particularly slums. The deadly virus is, in fact, spreading rapidly in Mumbai’s Dharavi, which is also the largest slum in Asia.

It is interesting to learn how states like Maharashtra, Bihar, etc. – which are densely populated – are dealing with the crisis.

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Most strategies overlap with those dictated by the Centre as well as several universal ones including social distancing, mandatory quarantine for persons in contact with COVID-19 patients, and coronavirus cluster management.

However, each of the five most populated states of India – Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal – have adopted some unique approaches that have proven to be beneficial too. Let’s take a look at them.

Maharashtra: The worst-hit state in India got most of its initial cases from people with a history of foreign travel, before secondary sources started surfacing late March. With the ever-increasing number of coronavirus positive cases and deaths in the past two weeks, the government stressed entirely on securing containment zones, Hindustan Times has reported. Most of these containment zones are located in the two major cities of Pune and Mumbai. They are closely monitored, and no resident of these clusters are allowed to step out of the sealed zones until further notice from authorities.

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Now, there are above 400 containment zones in the state, of which 381 are in Mumbai alone. Mumbai’s civic body, BMC, has classified these zones into three categories – red, yellow, and green – depending on the number of COVID-19 positive patients found in each.

Uttar Pradesh: The state focused entirely on identifying hotspots in the worst-affected districts and increasing restrictions in such areas to prevent further spread of the deadly virus. New health facilities were also quickly set up alongside coronavirus testing labs. In addition, 11 committees were set up to monitor the situation in the state, give feedback and suggest ways to help the people accordingly. Uttar Pradesh was the first state to distribute food grains for free among the poor, while also announcing a relief of Rs 1,000 each to all daily wagers and vendors.

Madhya Pradesh: The BJP formed the government in MP days before the lockdown was imposed, and still does not have the full Cabinet in place. Despite the lack of a health minister coupled with 72 health department officials testing positive, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been able to contain the spread of the disease to the cities of Indore and Bhopal. The authorities in this state are currently focusing on the basics, i.e., identify, test, isolate, and treat.

Besides, all areas visited by foreign nationals or people with respiratory diseases and influenza, have been sealed by authorities. Door-to-door surveys are being conducted to identify symptomatic patients too.

Bihar: This is the only state that has opened its outpatient facilities in hospitals, in a show of faith that the situation is gradually getting better. The total number of cases in the state have not crossed 100 either, despite being home to more than 100 million people.

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Though this could be a result of less aggressive testing, given only 8,000 tests have so far been conducted, Bihar chief secretary Deepak Kumar has claimed that all international passengers and symptomatic cases in the state have been tested.

Areas reporting a high number of cases, such as Panjwar village of Siwan district, have been declared red zones or hot spots. These areas were completely sealed, and essential supplies were provided by civic workers to ensure no resident steps out of the containment zone. Places visited by those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi were also sanitised and sealed.

West Bengal: This state has also reported less than 100 COVID-19 positive cases, although there have been frequent reports of locals flouting social distancing norms, and the authorities not enforcing the lockdown strictly. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claims they have imposed complete clampdown only in the hotspots, which have been sealed by authorities. The other areas have reported a flurry of economic activities, although there is no official record of most.

Bengal has roped in Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee and formed task forces and committees to seek guidance on how to tackle the coronavirus crisis. There are, at present, seven testing laboratories, 64 hospitals, and over 580 quarantine centres exclusively for COVID-19 patients in the state.

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