Kochi Police Commissioner Vijay Sakhare, who has been appointed state-level police nodal officer for coordination of Covid prevention activities, says he has been given 14 days to tackle the spread of the virus. The officer, who successfully implemented triple lockdown strategy first in Kasaragod and then in Kochi, outlines the strategies to be adopted across the state. Excerpts from an interview with TNIE.
You have been given the task of containing Covid-19. How do you plan to go about it?
We are going ahead with strict lockdown and containment measures. Back in March when coronavirus spread in Kasaragod, we were dealing with a handful of cases. Now Kerala has 11,484 active cases and the number is rising. The ‘triple lockdown’ strategy that leverages the expertise of the police department in conducting surveillance, enquiries and investigations holds
the key.
How long do you think it will take to bring the spread under control?
The Chief Minister has given us 14 days to tackle the spread and with scientifically devised strategies, we are confident of doing it. Ensuring home quarantine is the key. From May 4 when the inflow of people started, the spread of the virus started going beyond control. We had to come up with a strategy to ensure the virus does not spread in the community. If infected people stay at home, there will not be any spread. But there were violators.
How did you first enforce triple lockdown in Kasaragod?
We used an app called Covid Safety to detect violation of home quarantine. Whenever quarantined persons moved beyond 50 metres from their homes, the app would send an alert and they are shifted to institutional quarantine. Now we are warning people that they will be shifted to paid quarantine. Station House Officers will visit people in quarantine and explain the relevance of the app. The app has been a success and in the last 10 days, violations have come down to three or four per day from 20-30 per day.
Lockdown restrictions affect normal life. How do you deal with that?
We have services which take care people’s immediate needs. For example, through Swaraksha, we provide free medical consultation and also emergency services like ambulances. Through Amrutam, we ensure supply of food and essentials. Another is ‘Home Quarantine Check Team’’—motorcyle patrols are done every day in containment zones.
Why do you think the police force has been given the containment job?
Police have the investigative experience and technologies to track down people. Therefore, tracking primary and secondary contacts of a Covid-positive person is easier for us. The result can be seen in Kochi, where 95 percent of the cases being reported now are only from containment areas in the last three weeks.
How do you deal with the challenge of police personnel testing positive?
It is a challenge but we always tell our personnel to first protect themselves and then others. We tell them to wear safety gear before going to the field and interacting with people. Many police personnel contracted the virus when they were not on duty.
What is the biggest challenge ahead?
A major challenge is handling the fishing harbours in the state. With trawling ban being lifted, it would be very difficult to control people in coastal areas. At present, we are working on a strategy and measures for maintaining home quarantine for those returning after fishing. There are around 5,000 landing points and jetties in the state and it would be a difficult task.
What’s triple lockdown
Lock 1: Broader restriction of movement of all people residing in the district.
Lock 2: For restricting the movement of people living in distinct geographical areas that have reported positive cases. These areas are demarcated as containment zones. All entries and exits are blocked.
Lock 3: Targeted effort to keep primary and secondary contacts of Covid positive persons confined at home. It is achieved by a combination of technology and human surveillance.