NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday underlined the role of accredited social health workers in Covid-19 response in creating awareness and identifying cases at village level. Detailing the services being provided by 1.6 lakh ASHAs in Uttar Pradesh, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that in a gigantic exercise, they have tracked over nearly 30.43 lakh migrant returnees in two phases - 11.24 lakh in the first and 19.19 lakh in the second phase.
These workers have assisted in contact tracing and community-level surveillance and not only identified 7,965 with symptoms but also regularly followed up on their status. ASHAs in UP facilitated sample collection from 2,232 returnees of which 203 were found to be positive and were referred to Covid health care services.
The state has seen formation of village-level vigilance committees under gram pradhans who keep in touch with the ASHAs and provide her details of migrants, who in turn help with follow up on migrants. “ASHAs have played a critical role in sensitising the communities about the preventive measures to be adopted such as regular handwashing with soap and water, importance of wearing masks when out in public spaces, and maintaining adequate physical distancing,” said a government statement.
As a result of their efforts, there has been enhanced awareness about essential and non-essential healthcare services and how to access these, the health ministry also said. The Centre also claimed that ASHAs are provided basic protective gear like masks, soap, sanitisers as they go about their duties. They have assisted the Panchayati Raj department in development of the community quarantine centers, in buildings like Anganwadi centres and primary schools.
UP: 7,965 with symptoms identified by 1.6 lakh ASHAs
Detailing the services being provided by 1.6 lakh ASHAs in Uttar Pradesh, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that in a gigantic exercise, they have tracked over nearly 30.43 lakh migrant returnees in two phases — 11.24 lakh in the first and 19.19 lakh in the second phase. They have identified 7,965 people with symptoms.