In tune with the government decision to subject the masses in novel coronavirus-affected areas to random testing for ascertaining the extent of community spread of the disease, the administration in Kalaburagi, one of the worst COVID-19-hit districts in the State with 81 positive cases, is gearing up for random collection of samples in Ward 23, 24 and 25, now a containment zone that reported a considerable number of positive cases.
Addressing a media conference at the district administrative complex here on Thursday, Deputy Commissioner B. Sharat and Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Panchayat P. Raja said that they were planning to collect throat swab samples of around 4,000 people in the Mominpur containment zone that had around 4,000 houses and a population of 20,000.
“We will mandatorily collect the samples of high-risk sections such as elderly, pregnant woman and those having co-morbidities. Besides, if anybody other than these sections comes forward to get tested, we will collect his/her samples as well,” Mr. Raja said.
When asked about the capabilities of testing infrastructure in the district, Mr. Sharat said that the capacity had recently increased from 350 samples a day to 800 samples as day.
“We have three machines of different capacities which together can test as many as 250-300 samples in a shift. We have employed three teams to use the machines round-the-clock in three shifts. One more COVID-19 testing lab is going to come up in ESIC medical complex,” Mr. Sharat said.
Asked whether the medical professionals serving the COVID-19 patients were kept in isolation, the officers said that they need not be kept in isolation as they were assumed to be unexposed to the virus as they would use PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).
“The health workers treating the COVID-19 patients use PPE and remain unexposed to the virus. Yet, we have made a separate staying arrangement for them at the PWD quarters. If any health worker wants to maintain distance from his/ her family just to be on the safer side, he/she can stay there,” Mr. Sharat said.
The administration had set up 6 inter-State checkposts on the district border to receive the migrant workers coming from different States and quarantined them after the preliminary health check-up.
“As many as 12,025 migrant workers have returned to the district till date and they have been kept in as many as 294 quarantine centres set up across the district. A Shramik Express carried 1,181 workers from Mumbai to Kalaburagi and another train is expected to bring a similar number of workers on May 14,” Mr. Sharat said.
