Prayagraj: In a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19, district health department have made testing mandatory for the adjoining five houses of a patient. The step will be applicable irrespective of whether the patient is being admitted to a hospital for treatment or under home isolation.
Nodal and additional chief medical officer Dr Rishi Sahai said, “Once a patient (all genders and ages) tests positive for the Covid-19, health department teams will conduct testing of the patient’s family members and those living in the five houses (from all four directions) of the patient’s house.”
He added that this exercise would help the health authorities to contain the spread of Covid-19, and the department would also be able to identify fresh patients and treat them.
“We are conducting testing of around 6,000 people every day and efforts are underway to increase testing in urban, semi-urban and rural areas, even as the caseload in Prayagraj district is less than 1,000 patients. The focus is on those pockets and colonies from where the increasing number of patients have been reported in the recent days,” said Sahai.
Besides testing, a mass-level awareness campaign on the three safety norms of wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing and observing proper hygiene like hand wash has also been launched in the city.
Health department statistics show that 24,094 patients out of the total 25,395 patients have already been cured and the recovery percentage in the city is 94.87%. Data also claimed that testing of around 3.50 lakh people was done in Prayagaj district till now.
Health officials said that the city had reported more cases ( more than hundred) in the past two days. On Tuesday, the city reported 104 cases, while the caseload on Monday was 149.