209 villages in Thane rural keep coronavirus at bay

Dalkhan village in Shahapur Taluka (more than 60kms from Kalyan city) does not have any Covid positive case since the last 20 days. However, in August, they had

Dalkhan village in Shahapur Taluka (more than 60kms from Kalyan city) does not have any Covid positive case since the last 20 days. However, in August, they had 53 positive cases.

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This was possible after several villagers and social organisations pooled in funds to set up a small health care centre with two beds, oxygen facilities and an ambulance, helping in early testing, isolation and timely treatment. The villagers who had to visit other towns or villages for medical facilities could now get it in the village itself.

Like Dalkhan village, there are 208 more villages within Thane rural that are now Covid-free due to various such initiatives.

Dr Rupali Satpute, chief executive officer (additional charge), Thane Zilla Parishad, said, “More than 250 villages exist within Thane rural. Among these, 209 villages do not have a single Covid positive case for more than a month. Any area with a positive case would immediately be declared as a containment zone and sealed. For the next 14 days, regular screening and contact tracing were done in these zones. There are around 428 more containment zones within the rural areas where screening is going on.”

In Dalkhan village, every positive patient was immediately rushed to the hospital. They have a doctor who visits the health centre twice a week. Here, those with fever or any other health problems get consultation and medicines. If anyone has fever-like symptoms for more than two days, he/she is sent to the hospital at the earliest, thus arresting the spread of the virus.

Bhagwan Mokashi, sarpanch (additional charge), Dalkhan village, said, “We did not demand funds from the government to set up a health centre during the lockdown but used various other sources and managed to provide a facility within the village. This helped in providing timely treatment. All our social health workers helped in contact tracing and screening of the villagers. As soon as we found any patient with symptoms, he/she was immediately taken to a hospital in the ambulance. Having such basic facilities at our service helped ensure that the cases do not spike.”

A team was formed for conducting screening and testing across rural areas of Thane. This team included medical officers, social health workers, teachers and anganwadi helpers. They visited these villages and conducted screening of all those who have symptoms. The villagers were also advised as to how to maintain hygiene and keep mouth and nose covered during this pandemic.

Youngsters spread awareness

Kon village in Bhiwandi involved youngsters to create awareness about the pandemic. The Sarpanch of the village being a doctor helped the social health workers to train.

“We conducted regular checks of the market places and involved vigilant residents of the villages to ensure social distancing was followed. Moreover, all the poor or destitute who were finding it difficult to get food during the lockdown were provided with food grains and basic essentials. Apart from tracing, screening and testing, our main focus was also for the people to understand the pandemic, gauge the symptoms and follow the norms. These were observed well,” said Dr Rupali Karale, sarpanch, Kon village, Bhiwandi rural.

The village set up a website for all the Covid-related updates and information during the lockdown. This helped people staying indoors to get Covid updates on their smart phones. People were informed about the positive cases so that whoever came in contact could isolate immediately.

“If any cluster of cases was noticed or any particular village had a spike in the number of cases, we immediately conducted a testing camp in these areas. In these camps, each person who had come even remotely in contact with a positive patient and those with any kind of symptoms were tested. If anyone tested positive, he/she was immediately shifted to the hospital,” said a senior officer from Zilla Parishad.

Green flag flying high

The zilla parishad had asked villages in July to hoist a green flag in the gram panchayat if they did not have a single Covid case in 28 days. Currently, there are 209 villages in Thane rural areas that have hoisted green flags, “Special efforts were taken to remove the fear in the minds of the residents regarding Covid. Creating awareness and efforts to trace, track and test as soon as possible helped us hoist 209 green flags across Thane rural,” said Satpute.