How Odisha Kept COVID-19 Under Control: Centre Takes Note

New Delhi: The Odisha government’s measures to contain the spread of coronavirus and keep low mortality rate due to COVID-19 have earned appreciation from the Union Health Ministry.

The Ministry has highlighted the use of IT, empowering sarpanches and building skilled healthcare force that made the state one of the least affected by the pandemic.

Making efficient use of IT, the state launched Sachetak app to protect co-morbid and senior citizens. Developed by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), the mobile app kept these citizens under high scrutiny.

A member of the family of sich person was registered as a caregiver. For those staying alone, a volunteer from the ward level Sachetak committee was identified as a caregiver. They were oriented on the ways to take care of the vulnerable people from the disease.

Besides, the state launched a free-of-charge telemedicine helpline service (14410) in addition to the 104-helpline. Equipped with an interactive voice response (IVR) module, it provided medical advice with the help of over 300 medical professionals.

The empowerment of sarpanches for monitoring the spread of coronavirus at grassroot level was commended by the ministry. The Odisha government delegated powers of district collectors to sarpanches to help monitor the 14-day quarantine regulations, especially of the returning migrants.

The state government also focused on capacity building of medical personnel and trained 1.72 lakh health personnel to provide services to COVID-patients. The Ganjam district administration took the innovative step of training thousands of migrants in quarantine centres as community health workers in areas such as sanitation measures.

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