New strategic models introduced for covid-19 lockdown

While the ongoing lockdown in the country to combat corona virus is scheduled to end by April 14, both the Centre and States are yet to reach a final conclusion amidst the chaos and final planning of lifting the shutdown.

In a teleconference with various states’ chief ministers last week, Modi emphasised the need to chalk out a common exit strategy to ensure reemergence of population once the lockdown ends.

While many states including Telangana are currently facing a tipsy torvy situation currently, the decision to continue the lockdown for a week or two is likely to happen. The centre is also reconsidering partial lifting of the lockdown in many cities by initiating a new strategy to control transmission by tight zoning.

The zoning concept, which is already in force in other countries involves identifying and labelling areas as Green, Yellow, Orange and Red based on the intensity of the covid-19 spread.

The zones will be demarcated into neighbourhoods, wards, districts, states so that border checkpoints and travel restrictions are enforced within the limitations. It helps in imposing lockdown and constrict movement between zones.

Within the zones, epidemiologists implement testing, tracing and isolating the individuals with the covid-19. Senior doctors share that necessary tests can be carried out quickly and high-risk people can be monitored and tracked daily.

The Centre’s approach for the areas that are worst hit apparently follows the “Bhilwara model”, named after a town in Rajasthan, that had a high number of cases. This involves identifying clusters of the virus across the country and implementing place restrictions even stricter than the lockdown, that would limit the virus from going beyond those areas.