Make the Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign against Covid more prescriptive and useful for the people already infected by the virus, directed Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra while reviewing the IEC on Covid-appropriate behaviour on Tuesday.
Additional Chief Secretary Health Raj Kumar Sharma outlined the issues for discussion.
Mahapatra said that as many patients are in home isolation, they should be very clearly informed about the norms of isolation, daily care like measuring of oxygen level, which number to contact for getting doctor’s advice, what precautions to take, what to do at the time of emergency, and how to avail emergency services like ambulance, hospitalisation, etc. The people also should be clearly told about care of the elderly, pregnant women and persons with co-morbidity.
He further said the IEC campaign should also contain the telephone numbers of the persons whom a patient in home isolation could contact for getting health services. The rapid response teams (RRTs) were advised to form area-wise WhatsApp groups taking all positive patients so that the patients could communicate their health conditions to the RRTs.
It was seen that 12 types of Covid awareness texts, eight types of CAB messages, different AV clips on LED boards, advisories through electronic and social media, and audiovisual jingles are being disseminated through different media.
Principal Secretary Information and Public Relations Bishnupada Sethi said appropriate contents would be redesigned in collaboration with the State Institute for Health and Family Welfare for different media and audiences.