Daily Covid screening of poll personnel must during local body election
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Health Dept has called for daily screening of all personnel involved in the local body election process. In an advisory, the authorities concerned were asked to make arrangements for symptom surveillance at offices and venues related to poll work. “Symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhoea and others among poll personnel will be looked upon,” said the advisory.
It said daily temperature screening and recording will have to be undertaken by the head of the offices. “On the day of distributing materials, sufficient symptom screening points shall be arranged at the respective collectorate and district offices.
Any symptomatic officer will have to undergo antigen test and seek health care,” it said. If the test is negative, the officer should follow it up with a RT-PCR or other tests. If they are primary contacts, they will have to undergo antigen test as suggested by the health officer. Covid positive personnel will not be allowed to carry out election duty any further.