Bokaro district ramps up testing as virus returns

Bokaro: The Bokaro district administration has ramped up its drive to collect samples for Covid-19 tests in the last two weeks as part of its efforts to contain the spread of infection. Of the total 4,055 samples collected in the district since the outbreak of the disease in March, more than 35% were collected in the last nine days alone.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Bokaro had recorded a total of 36 Covid cases. Of these, seven are active, 27 have recovered and two patient has died. The first Covid casualty in the state was recorded in Bokaro on April 8. The district had become Covid-free on June 19 with the last patient discharged, but another seven persons tested positive on Sunday.
Bokaro civil surgeon A K Pathak said the administration is working on a multipronged approach to contain the virus. He said, “In the last one week, we have collected 1,493 samples for Covid tests. Of these, the results of 799 are pending. The backlog is expected to be cleared in two weeks. We are trying to speed up sampling and testing as well.”
Bokaro deputy commissioner Mukesh Kumar said the officials are working on four fronts. “This includes screening of Covid warriors, intensifying sample collection, conducting door-to-door surveys and enhancing facilities for treatment of patients,” he said.
He added that the pendency of reports has reduced and they are now getting test reports within 72 hours from the RT-PCR laboratory at Patliputra Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), Dhanbad, and TrueNat machine at sadar hospital. He said, “Though seven fresh cases have surfaced this week, our effort is to keep control on the situation by increasing sampling.”
On June 18, the administration also started a door-to-door survey as part of the statewide drive, with more than 2,500 sahiyas, anganwadi workers and ANM’s deployed across the nine blocks in the district.
District epidemiologist Pawan Kumar said the door-to-door campaign is focused on checking cough, sugar, blood pressure, respiratory problems or any symptoms of Covid-19 among residents.
Meanwhile, the district administration has also set up a new Covid care centre with 100 beds as a contingency plan in case Covid cases surge in the coming weeks. On Monday, Kumar had inaugurated one centre while another with the same capacity is expected to be ready soon.