A day after senior bureaucrats were appointed to contain COVID-19 in six hotspots in Bhubaneswar, the State Government on Thursday decided to share “vital information” including test results of suspected cases and steps being taken to tackle the crisis with the residents.
Notably, out of the 60 COVID-19 cases in the State so far, as many as 46 have been reported from the capital city.
Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy, in an order on Thursday, asked officials to use loudspeakers and create area-wise WhatsApp groups to disseminate information and communicate with local people in the six containment zones, Surya Nagar, Bomikhal, Satya Nagar, Sundarpada and Kapila Prasad.
Tripathy also asked them to contact cable channels for carrying out awareness drives in the clusters.
“The decision to disseminate information in the containment zones was taken after we found out that people were in the dark over all that is happening around them. Also, loudspeakers should be used to update information about availability of essential items,” the Chief Secretary said.
All containment zones have been barricaded, prohibiting entry and exit of persons, he said.
Once the area is sealed, teams of Andanwadi Workers, auxiliary nurse midwives and other health workers, under the guidance of community medicine and epidemiology experts, would move from one house to another to check on people. Samples of those found exhibiting flu-like symptoms would be collected at random and sent for examination to rule out chances of local transmission, he said.
Maintaining that supply of essential commodities and medicines at doorsteps remains one of the biggest challenges faced by the officials in the containment zones, Tripathy asked the Municipal Commissioner to take possible steps to ensure that people are not inconvenienced.
“People with disabilities, those living alone, pregnant women and aged persons should be given priority in these clusters,” he asserted.
If no new case is detected after conducting at least two rounds of survey, the Municipal Commissioner or the Collector might ease restrictions in these areas in consultation with the Health Department, Tripathy said.
Meanwhile, the Sundargarh district administration on Thursday tagged Bisra town as a containment zone and enforced necessary restrictions there for 48 hours till 11.30 am on April 18.
Several other districts, including Puri, Ganjam, Jajpur and Kendrapada, have also identified containment zones and sealed them in accordance with the Government’s directive.