Capt launches ‘Ghar Ghar Nigrani’ app for Covid surveillance

The app was launched through video conference in the presence of health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu

Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday launched a phone-based app — ‘Ghar Ghar Nigrani’ — for house-to-house surveillance.

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The app was launched through video conference in the presence of health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu. The CM described the initiative a tool for early detection and testing to prevent community spread.

Additional chief secretary (health) Anurag Agarwal said all above 30 years of age shall be surveyed as part of the drive, besides those with comorbidity or influenza-like illness/acute respiratory illness.

This will be ongoing process till the containment of Covid-19, said Agarwal.

The database through survey will help the government plan better and make targeted interventions for the community. Apart from this, the survey shall give better direction to all state health programmes, he said. Special secretary, health-cum-testing in-charge for Covid, Isha Kalia, said the user-friendly app was developed and designed in-house by the health department. The field tests were done in Patiala and Mansa, during which around 20,628 people were surveyed, of whom 9,045 were found to be asymptomatic and 1,583 with symptoms.

The survey is currently underway in 518 villages and 47 urban wards. Around 4.9% people have been found to be hypertensive, 2.2% diabetic, 0.14% having kidney disease, 0.64% with heart disease, 0.13% having TB and 0.13% having cancer, she said.