The door-to-door survey undertaken by utilising the 2.5 lakh village volunteers’ network has proved effective in tracking the foreign returnees, which will help contain the spread of COVID-19, according to Energy Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy.
“The working of the village volunteer system has been taken note of by other States as the YSRCP government is able to limit the number of positive cases (13 so far) when compared to them,” he told the media here on Saturday.
The volunteers, who act as a bridge between the government and the people in their jurisdiction that comprises 50 households each, tracked down a whopping 10,000 foreign returnees, the Minister explained while reviewing the health situation in Prakasam district, where a person who returned from London had tested positive for the disease. “This is in addition to the number of persons with foreign travel history identified by the Centre,” he said.
As many as 977 persons were identified in Prakasam district. “Surveillance on them is being ensured by a team of medical officers, which is assisted by health workers at the grass-roots level by diving the district into seven zones,” he said.
‘Patient recovering’
“The health condition of the foreign returnee under treatment in the isolation ward has improved. The 14 persons who have been admitted with suspected symptoms of the disease, who included the foreign returnee’s father, mother and sister, have tested negative. The results of the mouth swabs of six persons are awaited,” the Minister added.
