Central team satisfied with Ranchi admin’s work

Ranchi: The three-member team from the Union health ministry commenced inspection in the state capital on Thursday to review the overall management of the pandemic by the local authorities. The team was more or less satisfied with the Ranchi administration’s work, sources said.
The team visited an isolation centre, a testing lab, a sample collection centre and a Covid care facility here.
They first went to Khelgaon isolation centre and inspected the facilities being provided to the asymptomatic patients there. This was followed by a visit to the microbiology lab in Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences. The team also visited a sample collection centre at a banquet hall in Harmu area and went to Paras Hospital, which is a Covid care centre.
The team members also met nodal officers of several cells which are engaged in the management of the pandemic. Ranchi DDC Ananya Mittal said, “The team interacted with all the nodal officers, including the ones in the dead body management, testing and ambulance cells. They also inspected the medical kits being provided to the patients at Paras Hospital.”
She added, “The district authorities gave a powerpoint presentation to the central team on the initiatives that have been taken by the administration in areas like surveillance, containment measures, infection prevention, testing and control practices.”
The team was overall satisfied with the measures taken by the Ranchi district administration and appreciated them for their initiatives like launching a mobile-based application ‘Doctalk’ for online consultation and the elderly helpline to assist senior citizens in distress.
Sources said that the central team has asked the authorities to take steps to carry out awareness drives among those living in rural areas and have asked them to monitor places that witness high footfall such as weekly markets.
A member of the central team preferring anonymity said the overall management of Covid-19 in all the three districts is good. The few loopholes that they have come across have been brought to the notice of the health authorities and the respective district administration.
As of Thursday morning, Ranchi had recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the state. As many as 11,348 cases have been recorded in the district, of which 3,271 were active.
The team now plans to visit a few rural areas in Jharkhand on Friday and based on their visit, they will be submitting a report to the state health secretary with recommendations and suggestions and a copy of that will also be submitted to the Union health ministry.
The team had arrived in Jharkhand on September 4 and has already inspected Dhanbad and East Singhbhum.
The team consists of doctors from Lady Hardinge Medical College (in Delhi), Safdarjung Hospital (also in Delhi) and Regional Medical Research Centre (in Bhubaneswar).