Ganjam led the way in door-to-door survey

BERHAMPUR: Before the state government decided to carry out door-to door survey to identify persons with symptoms of Covid- 19, the Ganjam district administration had conducted such a survey in April and launched the second phase on June 8.
The second round will cover around 3.5 lakh families and will get over in the next two to three days, said district collector Vijay Amruta Kulange.
In the first phase, 40 lakh people were covered in the second week of April when the district was in the green zone. Though some people had exhibited Covid-19 symptoms, their test results were negative, sources said.
The second phase of mass screening is important with over two lakh migrant workers returning to the district and around one lakh are in home quarantine after completing their institutional quarantine period. “The survey will help check the transmission of virus in the community,” said a health officer.
The anganwadi workers, helpers and primary school teachers along with ASHA workers and health supervisors are collecting information about the health status of the people by visiting every household.
They will note down answers to questions related to travel history, health status and exhibiting symptoms of influenza-like illness. They also check the body temperature through thermal screening.
“We are getting very few cases with symptoms like Covid-19. The swab samples of those who exhibit symptom are being collectedimmediately,” he said. The third phase of the screening will also be launched and it will include identification of people suffering from other diseases.
During the first phase of the survey, the administration detected two serious patients of tuberculosis and fever from Bhanjanagar and admitted them to hospitals, sources said.