Shift from IQ to HQ not an easy task for corporation

Thiruvananthapuram: The city corporation, which spent nearly Rs 2 crore in the past three months to run institutional quarantine centres (IQCs), is in a fix over the latest order which says that all residential facilities/dwelling units identified and approved by the district administration and local bodies should be treated as institutional quarantine facilities.
The corporation runs around 30 IQCs, which house over 600 inmates. A preliminary audit has revealed that a total of 154 inmates are residents of neighbouring local bodies; mostly other panchayats and municipalities in the district.
Only 70 inmates hail from areas under the corporation limits. The city corporation cannot discharge these persons unless a verification of facilities is done by respective local bodies. As per the proceedings issued by the district collector, those persons who want to be quarantined in any residential facility/dwelling unit shall intimate the same to the local body concerned in writing in advance. Those who are already in institutional quarantine may submit the same through the charge officer of the said institution. The local body shall verify the suitability of the same residential facility/dwelling unit through the medical officer of the primary health centre.
The medical officer has to ensure that there is proper provision for room quarantine and shall ensure that the chances for disease transmission are minimal. Besides, it shall be ensured that there are no children below the age of 10, people above 65 years of age, pregnant women and other persons who are immuno compromised or with co-morbidity reside in the same residential facility/dwelling unit.
The corporation officials said that a fatigued volunteer force and enormous drain on financial resources have made management of IQCs an arduous task. Besides, the local self-government department has issued instructions for periodic cleaning, supply of materials to IQCs. “With over 30 centres to manage, taking care of all these affairs with our work force on a regular basis takes a toll on our staff. There are other routine duties which are being compromised; cleaning drive, source-level reduction and with the outbreak of other diseases, our work force can’t be put to a single task,” said an official with the city corporation. The civic body now has to co-ordinate with various local bodies to ensure that protocol is followed for shifting of inmates from IQs to room isolation in houses.
The facility of quarantine at the notified residential facility/dwelling unit will be made available to those who are in paid quarantine and in government run institutional quarantine and who completes seven days of stay at said facilities in the first phase.
Those who are already in the institutional quarantine facilities shall be allowed to move to the residential facility/dwelling unit for the remaining days of the quarantine, once it is approved by the local self-government. It has also been directed that rapid response teams shall constantly monitor such persons.