THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With Kerala reporting half of the Covid cases in the country, the state government has come up with restrictions till February 10.The district medical office has given directions to medical officers to relaunch contact tracing activities in the district
The spike in daily Covid cases has prompted district health authorities to strengthen and relaunch contact tracing activities in the district. Currently, there are around 4,473 Covid-19 cases under treatment at various healthcare institutions in the district. The district medical office (DMO) has convened a meeting with the medical officers in the district and given strict directions to restart contact tracing. There are around 21,766 people under home isolation in the district and 55 people are under surveillance at institutions.
With Kerala reporting half of the cases in the country, the state government has come up with strict restrictions till February 10. According to District Medical Officer K S Shinu, the launch of the Covid vaccination has increased the public’s confidence and backfired. “The vaccine is not 100 per cent effective. The public should continue to wear masks and maintain hand hygiene to protect themselves. Now, people are venturing out and taking part in functions.
We cannot continue to keep public healthcare institutions dedicated to Covid-19 treatment as non-Covid patients have been at the receiving end for nearly a year now. The only way out is to maintain protocol,” he said. Shinu said that there should be strict screening to ensure Covid protocols are followed during marriage functions. He stressed that the government should reduce the number of attendance from 200 to 100.
Deputy Collector (Disaster Management) Suresh Kumar said that surveillance will be stepped up in the district soon. “We have taken all necessary measures as per the direction from the government to curb the spread of Covid-19. We have also decided to intensify the activities of sectoral magistrates in the district who will be booking violators,” said Suresh. He said police surveillance has also been strengthened.
Local bodies to be roped in According to health authorities, the entire healthcare system has returned to its core responsibilities and it would be an additional burden for the medical officers to carry out contact tracing like before. The PHCs and CHCs in the district are dealing with multiple responsibilities including immunisation and vaccination drives. To reduce the burden on healthcare workers, the DMO is planning to rope in local bodies to carry out contact tracing activities.
“We have convened a meeting with the local body authorities next week. The panchayats, municipalities and corporations can assist us with contact tracing. An average of four people come in contact with Covid-19 positive patients daily. Mobilising more staff from local bodies for contact tracing will make the job easier,” said Shinu. Also, with complaints mounting on faulty antigen kits, the authorities have decided to do more RT-PCR tests. The DMO has decided to increase the number of RT-PCR tests per day to at least 75 per cent. “The government is planning to increase the number of daily tests to one lakh,” said the DMO.
Intensify ‘Break the Chain’
Meanwhile, residents associations blame the government and the authorities for the spike. Federation of Residents Association Thiruvananthapuram (FRAT) is gearing up to submit a memorandum to the chief minister, health minister and other authorities demanding to intensify ‘Break the Chain’ campaign. FRAT patron Paraniyam Devakumar said that Covid-19 protocols are often violated at public offices. “’Many ‘Break the Chain’ facilities are not working properly. The protocol should be enforced properly at government offices It’s really unfortunate that many of the officers don’t wear masks properly at government offices, thereby setting a bad example for the common man,” said Devakumar.