For the next 90 days, beginning April 5, Sunday, health workers from Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will survey every house in the city as part of its new plan to curb the spreading of novel coronavirus. About 10 lakh buildings in the city have been divided into sectors for this purpose.
Minister for Municipal Administration, Rural Development and Implementation of Special Programme SP Velumani explained that 16,000 healthcare workers will go to every house in the city for the next three months to assess if residents are showing any symptoms of COVID-19.
According to reports, the city has been split into 13,100 sectors and each of these sectors will have 75 to100 buildings. The workers visiting the houses for the next three months will receive Rs 15,000 a month and will be provided personal protective equipment as well. Data collected from each house will be tabulated and a database will be created for further study.
The healthcare workers will be trained on the questions to ask, and the kind of details to be collected for the database. Those with COVID-19 symptoms will be referred to the nearest hospital immediately.
GCC has already begun its micro containment plan in which high-risk containment areas have been identified and cordoned off across the city. The state began its containment plan last week in 13 districts where COVID-19 cases were reported at first. As part of this containment plan, the containment zones (up to 5 kms) and buffer zones (up to 3 kms) were marked, with the patient’s house as the epicentre.
Chennai presently has 88 COVID-19 cases, the highest in the state. Tamil Nadu reported 74 new cases on Saturday, taking the total up to 485. Two new COVID-19 deaths were reported on Sunday, taking the death toll up to five.
On Saturday, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, C Vijayabaskar told reporters that through the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC), one lakh rapid test kits have been ordered for the state. The state currently has 22,049 beds in isolation wards and 3,371 ventilators