Odisha Fights COVID-19: BMC Deploys 25 Teams To Conduct Sample Tests In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has formed 25 teams to conduct week-long sample tests in three city zones to identify COVID-19 patients, Zonal Commissioner (South Zone) Anshuman Rath said on Saturday.

A day earlier on Friday, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy had said that 5000 samples will be tested in the city in seven days.

“Each team consists of a doctor, teacher, police officer and sanitation staff. The sample tests will be conducted in two shifts. The first shift will be from 8 am to 11 and the second shift will be from 4 pm to 6 pm,” Rath said.

He said that two teams have been permanently attached to each zone while the remaining 19 mobile teams will work as per the daily schedule prepared by the zonal deputy commissioners.

Rath further said that apart from the sample test, BMC has simultaneously launched an enumeration programme to enlist vulnerable groups like vegetable and grocery vendors, medicine store employees, doctors and hospital staff who are exposed outside while providing health care service to the people.

“We have also started the slum assessment programme conducted by ASHA workers to collect the travel history and the flu symptoms of the slum dwellers. On the basis of the list, we will conduct the test of these slum dwellers on the next day,” he added.

The test will be conducted on people with travel history, SARI patients, health workers in COVID-19 hotspots, people in densely populated localities (slums), police, sanitation, COVID workers, people above 60 years with co-morbidity and random population.