Rapid antigen tests of salon, dhaba owners, truckers: Collector

Nagpur: District collector Ravindra Thakare has set the agenda of conducting widespread rapid antigen tests for Covid-19 in the district suburbs. The plan is to test grass root level stakeholders of society beginning from workers and owners of salons and roadside dhabas or eateries, especially at inter-state borders, to vegetable vendors, autorickshaw drivers and truckers.
Thakare, in a review meeting at the divisional commissioner’s office last week, placed his plan to fight corona spread in the mofussil localities of the district. These areas are considered more vulnerable as the health infrastructure is not so developed as in the city.
The collector said they will also test doctors, corporators and journalists, who work in high risk zones. “We have asked private doctors to provide details of people who come with complaints of fever and cough. We are also testing doctors who are helping us fight Covid at our request, and ensuring their morale remains high,” he said.
Thakare said 4,000 antigen tests have already been done, and another 20,000 antigen kits are reaching, following which a random testing drive would start in the district. “We would need to test drivers as they are moving to different districts and states, or making our district a stopover location. They can get infected during their travels and so it’s important to test them, isolate them if infected, and get them treated. This also holds true for the others too,” said the collector.
With haircut salons now thrown open to public, the collector said testing of people engaged in shaving and cutting is required too as they are attending to customers from different walks of life.
Thakare said widespread testing of service providers and those in transport sector can detect and check more infections. He underlined the fact that all these sectors had the potential to infect many if undetected.