Centre identifies 4 role model cities in handling Covid-19; Yediyurappa praises Bengaluru for effective management

While the national average of Covid mortality rate is at three percent, Bengaluru and Chennai with optimised use of the ventilator were able to maintain the patient's failing health.

As India enters the list of the worst-hit Covid-19 nations in the world, four major cities in the country including Chennai and Bengaluru have been identified by the Centre as possible role models for other cities in effectively handling the pandemic. Four cities – Jaipur, Indore, Chennai and Bengaluru are identified as the four cities where the coronavirus spread has been remarkably handled while moving to restart the economy.

coronavirus — COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and not a blood disease.Courtesy: Reuters

Four major cities identified

The Centre has been organising meetings between municipal bodies to share their experiences on effective practices in handling a high number of cases and also in keeping the mortality rate low, based on which the cities were declared as the role models for the rest of the country.

While Chennai and Bengaluru were identified as examples of large cities that were able to keep the mortality rate low; Jaipur and Indore were cited for the innovative ways in which the high cases on the contagion were tackled.

As per the reports, most of the Indian municipalities are facing challenges such as shorter case-doubling time, higher confirmation rates and higher mortality rates than the national average along with issues like perimeter control of containment zones, mapping of buffer zones and house-to-house surveillance required for more effective management.

In addition to this, slums and other high-density pockets inside these municipalities pose a higher risk in the management of the pandemic in the top urban centers.

BS Yediyurappa tweets on Bengaluru's Covid managementTwitter

Death rate at 1% in Bengaluru

In Jaipur and Indore, states the report, an aggressive strategy in conducting house to house surveys and contact tracking was followed. Bengaluru and Chennai, despite the most number of Covid positive cases in south India, have been able to maintain the mortality rate at one percent.

While the national average of Covid mortality rate is at three percent, Bengaluru and Chennai with optimised use of the ventilator were able to maintain the patient's failing health. The assigning of the ventilators was done on the degree of urgency.

Moreover both states have been better when it comes to patient management. Additionally, the ventilators have not been assigned irrationally unlike the other states.

"Both Chennai and Bengaluru have optimized the use of ventilators and patient triage or assigning the degree of urgency in cases while handling a large number of patients," said a senior official.