ROURKELA: With the existing healthcare system in Sundargarh failing to cope up with the staggering spike in infections, the district administration has decided to engage private medical practitioners in COVID treatment.
In a directive, Sundargarh Collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan on Thursday said if required, private doctors practicing in the district will be engaged in COVID-19 treatment. Private clinics were instructed to send a list of doctors for the purpose.
Kalyan said these doctors would work under the chief district medical and public health officer. On Friday, the Collector visited the call centre of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) for COVID management and interacted with team members.
Rourkela ADM Aboli Sunil Naravane said a dedicated helpline number 18003457468 of the RMC would be operational from Saturday 24x7 to receive complaint or provide information related to Covid.
Meanwhile, despite strict enforcement, people continue to violate Covid norms with impunity across the district. On Friday, 80 per cent of the vendors at the congested Traffic Gate vegetable market in Rourkela were seen violating the mask guideline. Physical distancing norm was also thrown to the wind as customers thronged the market in hordes.
On the day, the district reported 745 new COVID cases with test positivity report of 38.96 per cent. The fresh cases include 348 from Rourkela. Sundargarh’s active case tally now stands at 6,151. With three more deaths, the Covid toll officially rose to 190.