Telangana: Gram panchayats come up with guidelines to stop coronavirus spread

HYDERABAD: With migrant workers making their way back homes, gram panchayats are ensuring that returning workers adhere to a compulsory 14-day quarantine along with family members in the villages so that there is no possible transmission of COVID-19.
The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), which is assisting the people with crisis management amid coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, said that in case the workers do not have a house of their own to self-quarantine or their house is too small for the same, the gram panchayat will have to make necessary arrangements by converting Anganwadis or schools into quarantine centres or by establishing a makeshift quarantine space.
NIRDPR, vide a release, revealed how the sarpanches are dealing with the migrant workers’ exodus to villages amid the COVID-19 crisis. The GPs have issued the same guidelines as the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and are recording the details of each returning worker, including their name, sex, age, family details along with where they work and how they arrived at the village. They are also recording symptoms of Covid-19 if any.
They are also ensuring that the workers should sanitise themselves and their belongings (mobile phones, bags, luggage) before entering the village premises.
As per the guidelines issued by GPs, if anyone exhibits symptoms of COVID-19, they should be referred to the nearest health centre. Only one family member can take care of the patient in this case. Further, nobody should touch the patient’s clothes or hang them in public places or should be allowed to meet the patient at any cost.
Some of the don’ts include no crowding at places, no spitting in public, do not venture outside unnecessarily, etc.
They are also ensuring that no villager goes hungry in these difficult times by making sure that the poor have access to the ration promised by the government, starting community kitchens to feed the poor, and by engaging volunteers in food preparation and distribution.