Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s COVID-19 tally crossed the 10,000-mark Tuesday. It prompted Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to direct officials to include coronavirus management under the ‘Mo Sarkar’ (my government) programme to get feedback from patients and frontline workers. Naveen Patnaik issued the direction while reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the state.
The chief minister also asked COVID-19 observers and senior officers to interact with patients and frontline workers engaged in different COVID-19 hospitals and Temporary Medical Camps (TMCs). He said direct feedback from stakeholders will help the government to further improve COVID-19 care in Odisha. Patnaik told the officials to keep families informed on the health status of COVID-19 patients.
It has been alleged that once patients are admitted at COVID-19 hospitals, their family members remain in the dark for days together about their health status.
The state government October 2 last year had launched the ‘Mo Sarkar’ programme to take feedback from people on government offices, police stations and hospitals.
In view of COVID-19 infecting more number of frontline workers like doctors, nurses, anganwadi workers, teachers and others, Patnaik said all such ‘COVID Warriors’ must be properly trained on how to protect themselves against the highly infectious virus while dealing with patients and suspected cases.
After several non-COVID medical facilities, including the Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre and the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack, reported positive cases, Patnaik asked authorities to make antigen tests mandatory for all patients in hotspot districts. “The antigen test for COVID-19 is mandatory before any surgical intervention in all hospitals across the state,” Patnaik said.
Also read: COVID Care Homes to be opened in each panchayat of Odisha: Naveen Patnaik
Patnaik also asked the chief secretary to keep in touch with the Centre and ensure that lesser number of trains and flights come into Odisha from COVID-19 hotspots like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
In the absence of any proper medicine or vaccine against COVID-19, testing and identification of patients is important, Patnaik said. He added that three lakh COVID-19 tests, including one lakh alone in RMRC, Bhubaneswar, have been conducted so far.
There are 19 laboratories engaged in COVID-19 tests and this would be increased in the coming days. Coronavirus tests will also be available in Puri, Angul, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi and Keonjhar, the officials informed the chief minister at the review meeting.
Noting that social distancing and face mask wearing is very essential to stop the spread of the virus, Patnaik told the director general of police to maintain ‘zero tolerance’ towards offenders. Similarly, he also asked authorities to make government offices ‘Zero Infection Zones’.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has formed as many as 47,613 COVID-19 care committees at the village level and their members are trained on how to handle such cases. Similarly, 5,480 COVID Care Homes have been set up with 49,218 beds for treatment of mild and moderate patients, the official said.