THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
The State government is going on an overdrive tp tackle the COVID-19 threat announcing on Monday it will launch a door to door drive to health profile the populace and identify 'suspect patients' exactly a week from now.
In a bid to prevent community transmission, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said for three days around 8,000 BLOs, ANM, primary and secondary teachers, anganwadi workers and other govt staff will conduct the survey.
Each home will be visited by a team of two and check for any travel history of individuals in the household, he said, adding that they will also check for COVID-19 like symptoms, otherwise the task shouldered by trained medics and professionals.
Findings will be reported to the health department for further steps, Sawant said.
Besides house to house at the booth level, the survey will also cover the industrial estates, commercial concerns and edifices which are inhabited and beach shacks.
Sawant made an appeal to people, and in particular to landlords who let rooms or keep tenants to volunteer with information about them to the enumerators.
Those who will be engaged to conduct the survey will be trained beginning on Tuesday, he said.
Also at the Goa Medical College & Hospital (GMC), a separate ward for SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Illnesses) will be carved out in the Medicine department for respiratory diseases and influenza like illnesses. All the patients referred to the SARI ward will be tested for COVID-19, he said.
