KAKINADA: As Covid-19 virus is spreading to villages rapidly, many people are compelled to visit towns or nearby Covid care centres for treatment at hospitals or in isolation centres. With the urban scenario itself aggravating by the day, people from rural areas are at a serious disadvantage to access proper medical care.
Sensing the severity of the situation, the East Godavari district administration has come up with a novel concept of starting isolation centres in villages themselves. It expects such centre to ease burden on Covid care centres and hospitals in towns and cities.
It has come to the knowledge of the administration many rural people with mild nature of Covid-19 are staying at home, but due to their small houses isolation from other family members has become very difficult. Fearing that such cases would pass on the virus to their families, the officials have acted with alacrity and are setting up isolation centres with home food right in the villages.
District Collector D. Muralidhar Reddy has chalked out a plan of action for setting up village isolation centres. These would be run by sarpanches or any group of volunteers. Village secretaries would monitor the health of inmates and provide kits and arrange medical help when necessary.
Already, there are community halls, primary, upper primary or high schools, cyclone shelters and others in many villages and they have power connections too. The administration will arrange beds and other amenities. Toilets, washrooms and others would also be provided for.
Centre inaugurated
On Thursday, Joint Collector G. Lakshmisha inaugurated a Village Isolation Centre (VIC) at G. Ragampeta village in Peddapuram mandal. He called upon sarpanches, vice-sarpanches, ward members, youth and officials to come forward to set up such centres in their respective villages, as it would boost the morale of Covid affected to come forward and avail the services.
Family members can provide homely food and donors can chip in by providing beds, he observed. He said that many of the organisations irrespective of castes and religions are rendering their services and the villagers should take a cue and come forward. He said that as many as 3,000 Covid-19 patients were getting treatment in government hospitals and 500 patients were on ventilators and 2,500 patients on oxygen supply in the district.
After inaugurating the centre, he interacted with the patients and enquired about their health. He also distributed fruits to the patients. District Panchayat Officer Nageswar Naick, Peddapuram RDO S. Mallibabu, Additional DMHO Dr Saritha, Pulimeru Primary Health Centre Medical Health Officer Rambabu Naick, MPDO Ramana Reddy, Tahasildar B. Sridevi, panchayat secretary-select Raju and others were present.
