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Few takers for Covid-19 test in rural Gurdaspur
Only five people turned up for the test during a camp on Friday at Hemrajpur village that has a population of 2,200
Despite the coronavirus pandemic continuing to spread rapidly across the countryside, testing of villagers is proving to be a Herculean task for the health department in Gurdaspur district 71 per cent population of which resides in rural areas.
Health department organised a Covid-19 testing camp at Hemrajpur village, 10 km from the district headquarters, on Friday and only five people turned up. The village has two panchayats and a population of over 2,200. This happened despite personal requests by both the sarpanches and announcements from the gurdwara loudspeaker. Among the five people who got tested included the two sarpanches. According to the health department officials, the situation is similar in other villages of the district.
“The camp was organised on the direction of Gurdaspur sub-divisional magistrate (SDM). Only three people turned up for testing,” said Kuldeep Singh, one of the two sarpanches of the village.
Describing the reason behind the hesitancy among the villagers, Kuldeep said, “There is a misconception that if anyone is found to be positive, he or she will be shifted to hospital. Many of them believe the misguided propaganda on social media. It is despite our assurance that a separate hall has been spared in the village for treatment of the Covid-19 patients.” He said so far no one has died in his village due to the coronavirus.
Gurdaspur civil surgeon Harbhajan Raj said, “It’s the same story everywhere. Our teams have been visiting various villages, but people are not showing up for the test. Lately, a vaccination team had visited a brick kiln in a village, but, after seeing the health team, all the workers fled from the spot.”
On Friday, 11 people died due to the coronavirus in Gurdaspur district. Among the 11 fatalities, 8 were from rural areas. The district has recorded overall 600 deaths and 18,287 positive cases.
Punjab Health Systems Corporation’s chairman Amardeep Singh Cheema said they were roping in elected representatives of the panchayats and urban local bodies to motivate people for testing and vaccination.
