This story is from August 4, 2020

Covid-19: Health teams to test vulnerable citizens across Karnataka

The effort will focus on the elderly, pregnant women, people with comorbidity and those with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI). Rapid antigen testing kits will be used.
Covid-19: Health teams to test vulnerable citizens across Karnataka
BBMP has been racing to identify citizens who are more vulnerable to the effects of Covid-19
BENGALURU: After starting fresh door-to-door health surveys in Bengaluru, the state government has decided to test vulnerable groups of citizens for Covid-19 across Karnataka. The effort will focus on the elderly, pregnant women, people with comorbidity and those with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI). Rapid antigen testing kits will be used.
In Karnataka, there are 48.3 lakh households with at least one member aged above 60, 4.1 lakh pregnant and lactating women and 1.5 lakh households with comorbidity, according to the data from the state Covid-19 war room.
The data was updated in May.
The testing plan is yet another move to check the spread of Covid-19, especially in Bengaluru where cases have shot up. In the past two days, health teams of BBMP have been racing to identify vulnerable groups of citizens through door-to-door surveys.
“We have drawn up a booth-level action plan. Each booth has 200 to 250 houses. Once a survey is conducted, booth workers will have the list of vulnerable citizens, who will be then tested with antigen kits,” said a BBMP health officer. In the first phase, the civic body is targeting mostly clusters of apartments, large resident welfare associations (RWA) and slums. It will then cover independent houses and layouts. State health commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey said testing had begun in containment zones and the effort would be gradually extended to the entire city. “For now, the decision is to test those living in containment zones and buffer zones as they are a priority. Outside these zones, we are identifying vulnerable sections and trying to test as many as possible. This will be a continuous process,” he said.
Testing at-risk sections of the population was planned earlier, but a shortage of diagnostic kits delayed the process. “Until about 15 days ago, rapid antigen kits were not available. Now, there are sufficient kits to expand the process,” said a health officer with BBMP. The government has also ordered tests for vegetable vendors and traders as they operate in crowded areas. “District deputy commissioners have been given the mandate to test all those who are out in large crowded areas,” Pandey said.
Some ministers are concerned about lack of coordination. “Testing has become ad hoc. MLAs ask officials to test people in their areas, while officials have orders to visit a different location. We need a strategy where ILI cases are identified quickly and primary contacts are tested on priority. This will help save lives and improve tracking of patients,” said a minister, who is on the Covid-19 task force.
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About the Author
Sandeep Moudgal

Journalist by profession, 15 years in the field with Politics and Policy as forte. He is an Assistant Editor with Bengaluru bureau and Karnataka as his jurisdiction. Has a Masters degree in Ancient History and Archaeology from Mysore University along with a PGDJ from the Asian College of Journalism.

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