Covid-19: Bengal govt to start door-to-door survey to track suspected patients in high-risk spots..... Civic body and ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers have been entrusted with the responsibility to conduct the door-to-door survey. Bengal’s municipal bodies have also been asked to utilise their dengue surveillance teams for this emergency task.

Joydeep Thakur, HT, 14 April 2020, Kolkata: West Bengal government is all set to launch a door-to-door survey to track down suspected coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients in high-risk spots, a senior health department official said, as there has been a spike in the number of people being infected by SARS-CoV-2, which causes the viral disease.

The state had recorded 110 Covid-19 active positive cases and seven deaths till Monday.

Civic body and ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers have been entrusted with the responsibility to conduct the door-to-door survey. The state’s municipal bodies have also been asked to utilise their dengue surveillance teams for this emergency task.

“The door-to-door survey will help us find out about people suffering from fever and other symptoms of Covid-19, including Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI),” the official said.

The workers have been asked to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) units such as masks and gloves. The initiatives are part of the state government’s 11-point containment and treatment plan in Covid-19 high-risk spots, which was unveiled on Monday. Bengal has also set up a select committee of doctors to analyse the viral outbreak’s trends across the state. A map has been prepared that shows the hotspots, as lockdown restrictions are being strictly enforced in these areas to ensure micro-level containment.

“An analysis of the data reveals that some geographical areas in the state are reporting a higher number of Covid-19 positive cases. While a significant number of these cases can be traced to a few pockets or settlements or even families, the call for heightened vigilance and preventive steps will contain any potential for the spread of the virus,” the plan said.

The authorities have been asked to promptly track down all primary and secondary contacts of the Covid-19 patients and immediately quarantine them. The civic bodies and district health officials have been ordered to carry out sanitisation work in these people’s houses and municipal wards.

“Fever clinics have been ordered to keep triage and all personnel working in these clinics must wear PPE units. People who visit these fever clinics must be treated as suspected Covid-19 positive cases,” the official added.

Over 50,000 people are still under observation at their homes or quarantined in isolation centres and hospitals across the state.