Waking up from its slumber following reports of spike in deaths and infections due to Covid-19 in villages which are facing onslaught of third wave, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj on Tuesday asked the States to take preventive steps such as holding awareness campaigns to dispel myths and ensure better medical facilities to curb the pandemic spread in rural India.
The Ministry in a letter to the States asked them to undertake an intensive awareness drive among rural communities, sensitizing them about Covid infection and preventive and mitigation measures, in accordance with the advice of the Union Health Ministry, doctors and medical institutions etc., while especially taking care to dispel false notions and beliefs.
The Ministry has also asked State Governments to involve frontline volunteers from the local community for the campaign viz. elected panchayat representatives, teachers, ASHA workers etc. and they may also be suitably facilitated with necessary protective systems like finger oxy-meters, N-95 masks, infrared thermal scanning instruments, sanitizers etc.
“Leverage available IT infrastructure like panchayat offices, schools, common service centers etc to provide real-time information on availability of testing/vaccination centers, doctors, hospital beds etc. to rural citizens,
“The panchayats may be activated to provide the necessary institutional village-level support catering to their respective locations. Wherever possible, they may improvise households as home quarantine locations, where maximum of the asymptomatic COVID positive cases can be managed,” it said.
While the Union Ministry has stepped in lately, various district magistrates are already taking steps in this direction. For instance, Yashpal Meena District Collector Nawada in Bihar on Tuesday in collaboration with Fortis Hospital in Gurugram organized an online teaching and training session for doctors, discussing early diagnosis by communicating clear signs and symptoms along with testing and appropriate use of steroids.
Dr Rahul Bhargava who led the session said that such interactions are much needed given rampant misuse of various drugs and misconception about the disease while Meena warned that months ahead are crucial. “We are taking steps to not only prevent virus spread but also ensure timely treatment. In fact, we have been able to treat some of the patients at PHC level itself while our district hospitals have been spruced up to meet emergencies. We are dealing with the migrant labours issues as well and trying to ensure that they are vaccinated at the earliest.”
For its part, the Union Ministry has asked the States to “set up specific quarantine/isolation centers for the needy and returning migrant labourers. In consultation with the Health Department, the Panchayats may be designated to facilitate vaccination drives to ensure maximum coverage of eligible population.”