With 180 new cases, Raj records big one-day jump

JAIPUR: Rajasthan reported its highest single-day addition of Covid-19 cases, 180, on Saturday, with 65 of these being identified in Ramganj, Jaipur, which has become a hot spot for the infection. Curfew has been imposed in Ramganj and nine other police station areas in Jaipur from where coronavirus cases have been reported. A total of 1500 policemen including three companies of Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) and 900 home guards have been deployed and the entire walled city has been sealed.

At the core of the cluster of infections is a 45-year-old resident of Ramganj who returned from Oman on March 12. He was asked by health officials to stay in home quarantine but continued to meet people and even offered prayers at a local mosque.

He tested positive on March 26 and curfew was imposed in Ramganj, a crowded neighbourhood of nearly 500,000.

On March 29, the number of cases in Jaipur was 10 . By March 30, the count doubled to 20, with relatives and contacts of the man testing positive. By April 6, Jaipur recorded 100 cases. As of Saturday night, the case count in Jaipur was 301. Across Rajasthan, the count is 700.

The administration is racing to contain the virus. Door-to-door screening is being done in Ramacross ganj even though health workers have complained that residents are not cooperating. To make it easy for the residents to be tested, the health department has set-up six centres. Jaipur collector Jogaram has also issued orders warning of action against those who resist testing.

Since the first case, another 150 cases have been reported from Ramganj -- all have been traced back to the super-spreader who came back from Oman.

Health minister Raghu Sharma has said that a spike in cases is expected as the health workers are carrying out intensive screening and testing in Ramganj. The entire area has been divided into 30 clusters. “21 samples will be taken from each cluster and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test will be done. Initially 630 samples will be taken and if situation is found to be grave, then more samples will be taken,” explained Sharma.

Jogaram said this is being complemented by screening, which is being done across the district. He said that at east 1,000 teams of health workers have fanned out the district.

Till April 1, cases were reported from 11 of 33 districts in the state. Bhilwara with 26 cases and Jaipur with 21 cases were the main hot spots. The state has reported eight deaths so far.

From April 1, cases of Tablighi Jamaat members testing positive for the virus started coming to the fore. The health department officials said there were around 450 Jamaatis from Rajasthan who attended the Markaz event in Delhi in March. Of the total 700, over 60% have been traced back to the Jamaatis, said a state health department official.

Chief secretary DB Gupta said the Bhilwara model could not be replicated in Ramganj due to the congested area. In Bhilwara, where the group affected was urban, social distancing was meticulously followed, he said. But Ramganj with a population of 2.6 lakh presented a challenge. The walled city has a population of 15 lakh. He said the virus had spread to several other districts after the Tablighi Jamaati members returned. He said the government has appealed to Tablighi Jamaatis to not hide and come for testing and slowly they are responding.

By April 1, 24 of 33 districts were showing cases. Apart from Jaipur and Bhilwara, Banswara, Bikaner, Churu, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Jhunjhunu, Tonk, Kota and Jhalawar have emerged as the new areas of concern for the government.

AT THE CORE OF THE CLUSTER OF INFECTIONS IS A 45-YEAR-OLD RESIDENT OF RAMGANJ WHO RETURNED FROM OMAN ON MARCH 12