Bhubaneswar: The World Health Organization (WHO) lauded the state government for its effective management as well as community-based strategies in the fight against COVID-19.
In an article published by the UN agency, the early containment measures, dedicated COVID-19 hospitals, ramped up swab sample testing and effective decentralised management of the pandemic through panchayats across the state were highlighted.
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Odisha was the first ever state in the country in initiating such strict measures. The Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had ordered immediate closure of large number of public places March 13, even though the state had not reported a single case of COVID-19 infection.
State control rooms were made operational after the first case was reported March 15 and capacity building of the district level health officials on pandemic preparedness, response activities including public awareness campaigns on hand-washing and respiratory etiquettes were initiated, the world body reiterated.
The state was first in establishing one of India’s biggest 1000-bed dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in a record time of just one week. Besides, 30 dedicated district COVID hospitals were also set up.
Notably, the health facilities were independently assessed by the WHO as well as UN teams and the findings were shared with the state government.
The state also witnessed a huge influx of migrants during the past few months. The government adopted multi-pronged approaches such as monitoring of migrants’ movement, issue of online e-pass, contact tracing, provision of food and accommodation and monitoring health condition in order to effectively manage this.
Early sounding of lockdowns, temporary medical camps (TMCs), multi-sector collaboration, community-based disaster management, community engagement and mentoring support programs are some of the key response strategies that contributed to Odisha’s effectiveness in handling the pandemic, the world body stated.
PNN
