JOIN USIntensive vulnerable people identification survey in DK
With the surge in Covid-19 deaths in Dakshina Kannada district, an intensive vulnerable people identification survey has been taken up in areas that had reported a huge number of Covid-19 cases.
The survey will be taken up in the jurisdiction of 35 Primary Health Centres and Urban Health Centres in the district. A team with Auxiliary Nursing Midwifery (ANMs), Asha workers, Anganwadi workers and trained volunteers will take up the survey by visiting households coming under these high-risk areas, informed In-charge District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Rathnakar.
He told DH that the survey will identify the vulnerable people especially those above 60 years old and children below 10 years old and collect details like whether they suffer from cancer, hypertension, kidney and cardiac problems, diabetes, TB in addition to the symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) and Influenza-Like Illness (ILI).”
“The team of volunteers will also be provided with pulse oximeter and thermal scanning. The vulnerable people with comorbid conditions will be tested for oxygen saturation level in their blood using the oximeter. If it is normal, we will not press for any test. If oxygen saturation is below normal, then they will be taken to the nearest PHC for test using rapid antigen kits. If they test positive for Covid-19, it will be considered as positive. If symptomatic people are tested negative for Covid, then their swab will be collected for RT-PCR test. This will help the department to detect Covid-19 cases at an early stage,” the DHO elaborated.
The department has arranged vehicles to shift the symptomatic patients to the nearest PHC as well.
The district had received 3,300 antigen kits in the first phase and on Thursday, they received an additional 10,000 kits.
The survey aims to reduce the fatalities pertaining to Covid-19. Dakshina Kannada had already recorded 99 fatalities as on July 23.
The survey has already begun in a few high-risk areas. Some of the volunteers are undergoing training to conduct the survey. The survey work will begin in a day or two. One team is constituted for 40 houses in the areas identified. The hospitalisation of the symptomatic people will be decided by the taluk medical officers.
The survey will be taken up in 13 Primary Health Centres jurisdiction in Mangaluru, 2 in Sullia, 8 in Belthangady, 6 in Bantwal, 6 in Puttur. Along with the survey, awareness will be created on the spread of Covid-19, he said.