KOZHIKODE: The surge in cases in the third wave of the pandemic has forced the government to take a U-turn and reconstitute teams to fight the virus and contain its spread, three months after it disbanded the Covid Brigade.
The brigade, having over 20,000 additional staff across all categories, including doctors, nurses and paramedical staff, in the state was disbanded on October 30 last year allegedly without any intimation to its members.
Now, the government has decided to form Covid prevention teams comprising medical staff, voluntary groups and experts to tackle the third wave led by the Omicron variant. However, the government is not calling the groups Covid Brigade, though the teams will have the same responsibilities.
In Kozhikode alone, applications have been invited for 35 posts – 12 medical officers and 23 staff nurses. Surprisingly, the government has not invited anyone, who was part of the first Covid Brigade and has nearly a year of experience of caring for Covid patients, for the new venture.
“The government is finding it difficult to use the term ‘Covid Brigade’ for the latest team, as the earlier one was suspended just before a spike in Covid cases in November and December 2021,” said Saritha T N, a nurse who was part of the Covid Brigade in Kozhikode.
“Instead of recalling the same persons, the government is trying to bring in new members due to its vested interest,” she alleged.
“All our protests against the government’s move to suspend Covid Brigade without prior notice went in vain. However, the same government is now forced to form a new team,” she said.
A source from the district health department said the decision to expand the Covid prevention team by appointing more staff was taken after employees in various government hospitals started testing positive in huge numbers.
“In the coming days, we expect to add more people to other departments to tackle the present condition, which is expected to stay crucial till the end of February,” said the source.
Why was Covid Brigade formed
Struggling due to the spike in Covid cases, the government had formed Covid Brigade in mid-2020. It had over 20,000 additional staff across all categories, including doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, lab technicians, data entry operators and ambulance drivers.
The appointments to the brigade were done on temporary basis and their salaries were paid from the Covid management funds provided by the Centre. In October 2021, the brigade was disbanded,
Eligibility
For Kozhikode, the government has invited applications for a total 35 posts – 12 medical officers and 23 staff nurses – for Covid prevention and control.
Those applying for the medical officer post should have MBBS with TCMC registration and be aged below 62 as on January 31, 2022.
Those applying for the staff nurse post must posses the GNM certification of higher qualification and be below 40 years of age as on January 31, 2022.
New team formation
A source from the district health department said the decision to expand the Covid prevention team by appointing more staff was taken after employees in various government hospitals started testing positive in huge numbers.