COVID-19: Cuttack admin apathy puts villagers at risk

CUTTACK: Even as the State government is emphasising on tracing, testing, isolating and treating of Covid-19 patients, the lackadaisical approach of the district administration towards the key aspects, has given rise to threat of spread of the virus in rural areas. 

Delay in tracing the contacts of migrants who returned from other states and tested positive has people in villages worried.

What’s worse is that the tehsil, block and health officials are simply not paying heed to the concerns of sarpanchs of affected gram panchayats to initiate steps in this regard.

The case of a 45--year-old man from Patapari village in Nichintakoili block highlights the officials’ indifference towards efforts to contain the spread of the virus. 

The man, who was working in a company in Kolkata, had returned home on April 17. After staying home with his family for around a week, he developed symptoms and tested positive for the virus.

He was admitted to Sadguru Covid Hospital at Jagatpur on April 24. Even as three days have passed since he was hospitalised, no steps have yet been initiated to trace people who had come in contact with him.

Several of the villagers had approached the sarpanch of Ramakrishnapur gram panchayat Manoranjan Swain in this regard. 

Swain said he had brought the matter to the notice of Nischintakoili tehsildar, BDO and officials of CHC and urged them to initiate measures to trace the contacts of West Bengal returnees.

“But all of them turned a deaf ear to my request,” he said. Senior health officials said testing and contact tracing in rural areas have been hampered due to shortage of manpower.