The authorities in Vellore have been adopting a multipronged strategy to combat COVID-19 as the district witnesses a steady rise in cases since June, with the tally increasing to 1715 on Friday.
Testing has been intensified with the focus on people with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI), influenza like illness (ILI) and comorbidities.
“Swab tests are being taken for all people down with SARI and ILI. Steps to boost immunity of people by providing Ayurveda and Siddha medicine coupled with zinc sulphate and vitamin tablets are also being taken,” district collector A Shanmuga Sundaram told The New Indian Express on Friday.
He added, “Until the test results are received, people detected with SARI and ILI are put under home quarantine for 48 hours as a precautionary measure.”
People with comorbidities are also brought under the radar and provided with immunity boosting medicines and food. Fever camps are organized widely to identify people with symptoms.
Vellore city has become a cluster owing to Chennai returnees and infection in the market area, with the Vellore City Municipal Corporation (VCMC) accounting for 934 active cases until Thursday.
Creating awareness among the public through extensive education on the virus is also part of the strategy devised to fight the contagion.
“We have printed 4 lakh copies of a two-page note containing information on immunity boosting diet, herbal tea, immunity boosting juice, pranayamam and kabasura kudineer. As many as 3.63 lakh houses were given the information bill covering a population of 16.5 lakh in the district,” Shanmuga Sundaram noted.
The remaining pamphlets were being issued to the floating population. As part of boosting the immunity of the public, 1.30 lakh zinc sulphate and vitamin tablets were distributed to about 13,000 needy persons.
10,000 Ayurvedic immunity boosting kits are also going to be distributed to the public.
A Siddha doctor has been posted at the COVID-19 isolation treatment ward in Govt Vellore Medical College Hospital (GVMCH) to provide treatment along with allopathy.
Severe restrictions have also been placed on containment streets from where positive cases have been reported. As many as 354 containment streets have been brought under close vigil. Moreover, commercial activities have been frozen in clusters like the Vellore city market area.
Daily tests range from 500 to 600 in the district. So far, 29954 samples were tested, of which 1715 were found to be positive.