Special surveillance drive: 50 of 1,477 having Covid-like symptoms tested positive

The 10-day special surveillance drive that began on July 2 in Ghaziabad and the other five western Uttar Pradesh districts ended on Sunday.

The 10-day special surveillance drive that began on July 2 in Ghaziabad and the other five western Uttar Pradesh districts ended on Sunday.

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Over 2,020 teams had fanned out into the district’s 1.2 million households and surveyed 3.8 million people during the drive and discovered 11,000 people with co-morbidities and 1,477 with symptoms of influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) and severe acute respiratory infection (Sari), 50 of who tested positive for the coronavirus disease Covid-19, which is lower than the fresh count on most days discovered.

The special drive was initiated on directions of the Uttar Pradesh government and part of strategy for early detection, testing and referral of people in wake of Covid-19 outbreak. The six districts in the Meerut Division -- Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Baghpat and Hapur, had 10817 total cases till Sunday, which is around 29.65% of the burden on Uttar Pradesh. A similar drive for the rest of the state started on July 5.

According to official records of the Ghaziabad health department, 2029 teams comprising two members each were formed in urban (1,263 teams) and rural centres (766 teams). They conducted door-to-door surveys in different localities in order to screen for people having Covid-like symptoms or having co-morbid conditions.

“The teams found instances of about 11000 people in different localities who had different comorbid conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, heart ailments and kidney related issues among other. Special emphasis was laid on collecting data of persons having co-morbid conditions as these people are high risk group which could be severely affected by Covid-19. Overall, the teams also found 1477 cases which had ILI or Sari symptoms. Fifty of these were found positive for Covid-19,” said Dr. N K Gupta, chief medical officer, Ghaziabad.

According to the state control room figures on July 12, the district has total of 3156 cases which includes 1322 active cases, 1772 patients discharged and 62 deaths so far.The total figure of 3156 includes 142 new cases added on July 12.

On why the number of cases discovered during the drive was so low. “The teams had no doctors and they were supposed to go only till the door of the households and were not required to check people physically. They relied on people to give them correct information,” said Dr. Gupta. The information is then submitted to the health department, which tests people with ILI and Sari symptoms

ILI cases are those with symptoms of fever and cough, and SARI are ILI cases that require hospitalisation.

According to figures compiled till Sunday afternoon, the teams found 6,425 persons suffering from diabetes, 3338 with blood pressure issues, 200 cancer patients, 673 having heart-related issues and 226 affected by kidney ailments, among others.

Amit Mohan Prasad, UP’s additional chief secretary (health), said that teams tried their best to reach every household.

“If there are still houses left to be surveyed we will get these covered in another couple of days. With the data available, teams across the state have so far covered 25,194,708 households having population of about 129,435,139 people. The teams have also found substantial number of people with co-morbid conditions and record of such persons is being maintained and people have been asked to take up all precautions,” he added.

According to official, the teams conducting household surveys across the state have so far found 848,593 people affected with diabetes, 238,238 with high blood pressure, 18,018 having cancer, 54,247 affected by heart ailments and 16,889 affected by kidney related ailments.

“Our teams have done substantial work in field during 10 days and they were also provided with 550 set each of pulse oxymeters and infrared thermometers on July 4. They also found about 900 persons who came in contact with Covid-19 affected persons during last 14 days. Such persons will also be tested. Primarily, the teams were dependent majorly on whatever information was provided to them by residents,” Dr. Gupta said.

According to official records, the teams in Ghaziabad during 10 days surveyed 12,01,228 households having population of about 3,830,186 persons.

“After the drive is over, we will try to conduct special drives in containment zones where some of these teams will be deployed for another round of extensive household survey,” Dr Gupta added.

The Covid-19 cases have been on rise in Ghaziabad and the district has already crossed the 3000 figure mark on July 11.

According to the state control room figures on July 12, the district has total of 3156 cases which includes 1322 active cases, 1772 patients discharged and 62 deaths so far.

The total figure of 3156 includes 142 new cases added on July 12.

The first case came to light in Ghaziabad on March 5 while the district reached 500 mark figures on June 8. Thereafter, total 1000 figure was reached on June 23 and 1500 mark was crossed on June 30.

As a result of further surge, the 2000 mark figure was reached on July 4; 2500 on July 8 and 3000 on July 11.