Asha workers roped in to check Covid suspects in Gautam Budh Nagar

NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA With coronavirus cases on the rise in Gautam Budh Nagar, the administration has now roped in Asha workers to track down people who returned to the district from other states or countries in the past 14 days. Of 271 foreign returnees, officials have so far been able to trace only 100 in the twin cities.
There are some 735 Asha workers — 108 in urban areas and 627 in rural areas of GB Nagar.Following an UP government directive, officials said, these health workers have been asked to track down people and their families returning to the district in the past fortnight and submit a list to their respective block community process manager (BCPM), who will in turn intimate the district surveillance team.
“The Asha workers have been tasked with the job of going door-to-door of such returnees and then taking down necessary information, such as their travel history and the health conditions of their family members — if anyone has fever, dry cough or respiratory problem — and inform the same to their respctive BCPM,” said the district programme manager from the health department.
While rural Asha workers will have to visit 25 to 30 houses daily so that they can complete home visits in their areas in eight working days, urban health workers will have to complete the house visits in 16 working days, officials said. The workers will also have to visit people over 60 years and those already suffering from diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
“The Asha workers will also follow-up on people put in home quarantine for the mandatory 14 day period. And for all this work, these health workers will be given an additional remuneration of Rs 1000 in April and May, while an Asha Sangini (their assistants) will be given between Rs 100 and Rs 500 per month,” the programme manager said. On an average, Asha workers are paid about Rs 4,500 a month.
Meanwhile, the district authorities said they have already tracked down 100 of the 271 people from the district with a recent travel history to Germany, the US, Australia, Indonesia and Thailand. “We received the list on Wednesday itself and have already verified 100 such people. Most of them are keeping fine. In case, we face problems in tracking down others, powe will seek police help,” a senior administration official told TOI.
Noida police commissioner Alok Kumar Singh said they are re-verifying the health status of foreign returnees whose names have been shared with the district authorities.
However, another official said that there were instances where some persons had not disclosed their exact travel history and hidden the details even from their family members. “For example, someone who travelled to Bangkok claimed he travelled within India. Families of such people are being asked to exercise caution,” he said.
As many as 87 foreign returnees who were either symptomatic or above 60 years of age, have been sent to the quarantine ward in the district hospital in Sector 39. “The government’s guidelines say those aged above 60 years and those showing symptoms of Covid-19 be immediately sent to quarantine,” said a health department official.