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Covid-19: Door-to-door health survey begins in Bengaluru
The survey questions will include details of residence and family members, health and vaccination, which will be entered into the BBMP software every day
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bengaluru’s civic body, on Monday rolled out an ambitious initiative to send a team of medically qualified personnel door-to-door in India’s to monitor the general health of residents, collect information and spread awareness on Covid-19, among other tasks.
The move comes at a time when Bengaluru and the rest of Karnataka are staring at another wave of Covid-19 infections, the number of which appears to be increasing with every day.
As part of the scheme--“Palike Vaidyaru Nimma Mane Bagilige”(Palike doctors at your doorstep)--there will be one doctor and one para medical staff to collect information on Covid-19 symptoms and comorbidities as well as provide advice on healthcare.
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“In the first phase, two wards each from assembly constituencies, 54 in total, have been chosen and the survey will start on August 16, 2021,” the BBMP said in a statement on Monday. Bengaluru has 198 wards.
The survey questions will include details of residence and family members, health and vaccination, which will be entered into the BBMP software every day.
R Ashok, Karnataka’s minister for revenue and in-charge of Bengaluru city for Covid-19, said on Monday that the new programme is part of an initiative to ensure the safety of the city’s residents.
“The first (intent of the new initiative) is to ensure health for Bangaloreans. If anyone tests positive when our team reaches them, then arrangements will be made to move them to hospitals,” Ashok said.
He added that as part of the drive, healthcare workers would also collect information on vaccination coverage and details of comorbidities--diagnosed and undiagnosed--to provide more targeted healthcare requirements.
Ashok said that the team will go to 50 homes each day with a set of questions. He added that this would also build confidence among the population.
The erstwhile BS Yediyurappa-led government has been criticised for its mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis and prioritising elections and politics, adding to the challenges that the state had to overcome since the beginning of the pandemic around March last year.
The new government under Basavaraj Bommai has been trying to prioritise Covid-19 management by imposing strict rules like weekend curfews in districts bordering Kerala and Maharashtra and a night curfew across the state including in Bengaluru.
Gaurav Gupta, the chief commissioner of the BBMP, said that the initiative was part of preventive measures in the city.
