Ludhiana residents hostile to covid frontline workers collecting data

A team of two Asha workers has to survey the area where a covid-19 case is reported and get details of number of people staying in the zone, the pregnant women, vulnerable section etc. Ludhiana, to date, has 31 such areas also called micro-containment zones.

Ludhiana A day after Punjab principal secretary health, Hussan Lal, said contact tracing and testing is key to fighting the covid-19 pandemic in the state, it is proving to be a troublesome task in Ludhiana, already among the worst-hit due to the disease.

Ludhiana has around 2,000 Asha workers, with the state having a total of 17,000. (HT File)

Around 2,000 Accredited Social Health Activist (Asha) workers, who are tasked with collecting and tabulating crucial data and are thus the frontline warriors, say residents’ attitude towards them is hostile and indifferent. The state has 17,000 Asha workers and all are women.

Whenever a covid-19 case is detected, a team of two Asha workers has to survey the area, usually called micro-containment zones, and get details of number of people staying in the zone, the pregnant women, vulnerable section etc. Ludhiana, to date, has 31 micro-containment zones. They are also to paste stickers of quarantine outside houses, wherever applicable.

Based on their data and report, mobile teams of the health department visit these zones, if required.

Balbir Kaur, president of Asha Workers Union, said, “We are facing real challenges in posh localities, where people who are suppose to be educated, are reluctant to come forward for tests. The majority of the times they do not even open the door, and if they do they speak rudely. We have demanded that a medical officer should accompany Asha workers.”

Sometimes, health workers are even attacked. “The attack on health worker Mastan Singh at Prabhu Da Dera in Khanpur village near Jarkhar village on August 12 highlighted the cruelty and bias of the layman towards health workers,” said Harmeet Kaur, an Asha worker attached with mobile team number six of the health department.

Dr Parminder Kaur, in-charge of mobile team number 1 from civil surgeon office, said, “We had visited visit Rajguru Nagar to collect samples from micro-containment zones, but people are not cooperating.”

Civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga said, “People in micro-containment zones should get themselves tested and be compassionate towards health workers. Asymptomatic patients end up infecting patients with co-morbidities. It is unfortunate that people do not come forward.”