Door-to-door Covid survey in UP from July 1

LUCKNOW: In a bold move to flatten the spiralling Covid curve, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to launch a mammoth door-to-door survey across 75 districts to screen and detect hidden cases for swift quarantine and capping virus spread.
The Union ministry of health and family welfare too had sent a directive to UP to conduct micro screening of patients and the state government may use its successful pulse polio campaign template to conduct the survey, which will kick off from Meerut division.
Health teams would also map vulnerable persons, including pregnant women, patients with co-morbid conditions like cancer, renal disease or diabetes, the elderly and children below 10 years of age.
The exercise is similar to the campaign recently launched in Delhi, but replicating the model in UP is a herculean task, considering the state’s massive population of 23.15 crore.
Neighbouring Madhya Pradesh too is gearing up for house-to-house mapping, but it has just one-third the population of UP.
“The drive will begin on July 1 from Meerut division and health officials will fan out to other districts from July 5,” additional chief secretary Amit Mohan Prasad said on Saturday. Choosing Meerut division in the first leg stems from an urgency to curb virus spread in the six districts, which account for maximum covid cases in the state. “Over 47% cases reported in past 24 hours are from Meerut division,” said Prasad.
The Meerut division comprises districts of Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad, which are a part of the national capital region and have witnessed a surge in cases. Meerut, Hapur and Bulandshahr too recorded a spike in June and accounted for Covid deaths, said health officials.
State government’s targeted random sampling exercise is also being seen as the key reason for the house-to-house exercise. “Samples were taken from vulnerable sections like health workers, slum dwellers, vendors and frontline corona warriors. The effort revealed active cases in many places, which compels immediate assessment of the situation,” said a senior health officer. The monsoon could trigger a spurt in other diseases like influenza and infections and further accentuate the crisis.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered setting up of one lakh teams to raise surveillance across the state. “Health teams would knock at every doorstep, the way they did during the polio exercise. We hope people will cooperate with them in their individual interest and for a larger social good,” said a senior surveillance team staff.
The survey would be undertaken with the help of district administration, who are using the pulse polio campaign template for the purpose. “Also, health staff like ASHA and auxiliary nurse, midwives, civil defence volunteers, booth-level officials (BLO) and municipal staff, will be used to conduct the survey. The district machinery and police will also be engaged to supervise and ensure safety of teams," a district magistrate told TOI. A senior government officer revealed all staff would be provided with sanitisers and protective gear.
Crowd-sourcing ideas
UP government has decided to launch ‘crowd-sourcing of ideas’ to aid the ongoing battle against coronavirus. “Slated for launch on July 1, the campaign aims to gather unique ideas to curb the virus spread. Anyone in the state can share their idea in a one-minute video or a 150-word description and share with the health department. The best ideas will be rewarded,” said additional chief secretary health and family welfare Amit Mohan Prasad. Details of the campaign will be shared over the week and 100 best videos will be featured while a small group would be given a cash prize of Rs 10,000 each.