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These teams are working in the field and visiting health care facilities to support the State health department in the implementation of containment measures and efficient treatment/clinical management of cases within the districts/cities.
New Delhi: The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has deployed high level multi-disciplinary Central teams to 15 States/UTs with more than 50 districts/municipal bodies that are witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The teams will assist the State Governments by providing technical support for containment and facilitate the management of the coronavirus outbreak.
These are the following States/UTs where the teams have been deployed – Maharashtra (7 districts/municipalities), Telangana (4), Tamil Nadu (7), Rajasthan (5), Assam (6), Haryana (4), Gujarat (3), Karnataka (4), Uttarakhand (3), Madhya Pradesh (5), West Bengal (3), Delhi (3), Bihar (4), Uttar Pradesh (4), and Odisha (5).
The three-member teams are composed of two public health experts/epidemiologists/clinicians and a senior Joint Secretary level nodal officer for administrative handholding and improving governance.
These teams are working in the field and visiting health care facilities to support the State health department in the implementation of containment measures and efficient treatment/clinical management of cases within the districts/cities.
In order to ensure better coordination, quick action on the ground, adoption of a more granular strategy, it is proposed that these districts/municipalities should regularly remain in touch with central teams that are already coordinating with the States.
The central teams are assisting the States/UTs in addressing some of the challenges faced by the State/UT authorities such testing bottlenecks, low tests/per million population, high confirmation rates, high testing confirmation rate, risk of capacity shortfall over the next two months, potential bed shortage, growing Case Fatality Rate, high doubling rate, a sudden spike in active cases, etc.
Many districts/municipalities have already formalised a dedicated Core Team at the district level comprising of district-level medical and administrative officials to coordinate over a regular basis with the Central Team.
Earlier yesterday (June 8), Preeti Sudan, the Health Secretary and Rajesh Bhushan, OSD, MoHFW along with senior officers of the Health Ministry held a high-level review meeting through a video conference with the District Collectors, Municipal Commissioners, Chief Medical Officers, Superintendent of District Hospitals and Principle of Medical Colleges from 45 municipalities/municipal corporations across 38 districts in ten states, that are witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The State officials were advised on the measures to be taken in the containment zones for case management and buffer zones surveillance activities and promotion of COVID appropriate behaviour.
To reduce the case fatality rate, the officials were briefed on measures to be taken like prioritising the high-risk and vulnerable segments like elderly people and people with co-morbidities while contact-tracing to prevent deaths; active surveillance measures, adequate testing and promoting health-seeking behaviour for timely detection of cases; ensuring timely shifting of patients without escalating the symptoms.
According to the Ministry of Health at 8 AM today, over 2,66,598 people have contracted COVID-19 across India till now while 1,29,215 have been cured/discharged. The total number of active cases is now 1,29,917.