The story of Tolarbag in Dhaka, identified as one of the clusters for coronavirus transmission in early April, is an excellent example of how transmission can be contained if lockdown is maintained properly.
The area has not reported any new infection for over three weeks as the local authority had imposed strict restrictions on movement to contain the spread of coronavirus.
While people from different areas continue to ignore lockdown rules and social distancing measures imposed by the government, residents of Tolarbag have clearly been going the other way.
The last person identified as Covid-19 positive from the area was on April 10, three weeks after the lockdown was imposed on March 22. Since then, nobody has tested Covid-19 positive in the area.
Tolarbag in limelight
On March 21, Tolarbag became the talk of the town when a 73-year-old man died from Covid-19 in a local private hospital in the area.
Within two days, his neighbour, who used to pray at the same mosque, met the same fate on March 23.
Following the two deaths, the local administration clamped restrictions on the area, asking people not to leave their houses. All the families were put on home quarantine.
Members of the Tolarbag Society too asked residents not to come out of their homes unless there were emergencies.
The area houses 40 buildings.
Closed gate of Tolarbag residential area in Dhaka | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneOn April 4, it was reported that six people were infected in Tolarbag, which rose to 14 on April 9, and stood at altogether 19 people on April 10.
Since then, no case has been reported from the area. The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) took samples of nearly 50 people, all of whom were found to be Covid-19 negative.
Measures that proved effective
Tolarbag was the first area in Dhaka where strict restrictions on people’s movement were imposed.
“Initially, all outsiders, including maids, hawkers and drivers were banned from entering the area. The entry gates were kept closed and no outsider was allowed to enter without contacting the members of the respective flats,” said Najmus Sakib Khan, who resides in the same building where the first deceased person used to live.
“The local house owners’ association set specific times for shop openings, and suspended public prayers at mosques. If any family needed groceries, only the guards or a specific member of the family was allowed to go out for them” he said.
Shuvashis Biswas, president of the House-Owners' Association in the area, told Dhaka Tribune that testing all persons suspected to have come into contact with the infected was the first thing they focused on.
Also, all the guards of the buildings and people who attended prayers from the area were tested to identify risks.
“Around 300 people from the area in total were tested and 19 of them were found Covid-19 positive. Two of our neighbours died, but the remaining 17 recovered from Covid-19,” he added.
Of those 17, eight received treatment at hospitals and nine at home.
Biswas said one of the measures the society took was to provide the phone numbers of the local Shwapno superstore and a grocery store to the residents of the area so that the products they needed could be made available at their doorsteps simply by a phone call.
At the same time, three entry gates of the area remained closed and hand sanitization facilities were introduced in all buildings.
The city corporation also sprayed bleaching powder in the area every other day, he said, thanking the corporation for the initiative.
Additionally, two disinfectant machines, donated by local lawmaker Aslamul Haque, were used to secure the area from infection.
The local lawmaker sent food items as gifts twice to all 700 families living in the area, thanking them for staying within their homes.
“We are now planning to provide stickers for private vehicles used by the local residents and install a disinfectant gate to ensure more security from Covid-19,” added Biswas.
There is a slum just behind North Tolarbag housing 166 families.
“The local lawmaker provided relief twice in the area and more will come as they are also not coming out of their homes to contain the spread of the virus,” said the president of the association.
Mahmuda Akter Lucky, additional deputy commissioner of Mirpur Division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said safety in Tolarbag had been made possible through careful monitoring by local law enforcement agencies and support from local residents.