Coronavirus in India update: Centre finds lapses at district level as Covid spike continues

Coronavirus update: In the wake of the surge in Coronavirus cases in India, the Central government has opened a direct communication channel with hotspot district officials. In its video conference with officials from 17 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, the Central government officials have found alarming lapses pertaining to containment and surveillance strategies. A meeting was also held with Delhi officials. The central government officials believe that these loopholes are contributing to the massive spike in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, according to a report in The Indian Express.

Instead of holding virtual meetings with health secretaries of the states, the centre officials held deliberations with chief medical officers (CMOs) and administrative officials at the district level. Notably, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka are presently accountable for nearly 46 per cent of India’s caseload. With India recording more than 80,000 daily Coronavirus cases and someday even 90,000 cases, the central government has changed its tactics of sending out a message to check the rapid spike in Coronavirus cases.

Coronavirus has been spreading in particular states and more cases are found in newer places. However, still, the highly contagious virus is restricted to semi-urban areas and by and large, villages are yet to witness outbreak. Meanwhile, District officials from Karnataka’s Koppal, Mysuru, Davangere, and Ballari, Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam and Chittoor and Maharashtra’s Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Raigad, Jalgaon, Solapur, Satara, and Palghar, had attended the video conferencing, The Indian Express report says.

The main concern is that even after knowing strategies for surveillance, containment, contact tracing, and treatment, these three aforementioned states are reporting a higher number of Coronavirus cases on a daily basis. While there are 200 to 800 ASHA workers and volunteers at the district level, they are yet to be trained on their function at a containment zone. From missing a large number of infected persons to not being instructed to trace the average number of contacts per positive, there are glaring gaps, says The Indian Express report. Even though the municipal commissioners and district magistrates do possess the knowledge, the ground level workers are yet to be trained, added The Indian Express report.

Two manuals have been prepared by the Central government. One is meant for ground-level surveillance officers and the other for supervisors monitoring the team. The CMOs have been asked to make efforts towards bringing down the mortality rate below 1 per cent, as per The Indian Express report.