Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan to meet representatives of local bodies

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday will hold a meeting of officials and representatives of local bodies in the wake of increasing Covid-19 cases.
The meeting that will be conducted online will discuss the roles and responsibilities of local bodies in containing the spread.
There was criticism that most of the local bodies were unable to rise to the occasion during the second wave as the elected representatives were newcomers who were unclear of their duties during the pandemic.
In the last couple of weeks, the local self-government department has been initiating several proactive steps by involving local bodies in Covid-19 control and management.
The department had set up a Covid-19 war room to coordinate the activities.
The war room analyses the data from the health department and co-ordinate the tasks of the nodal officers appointed to the various local bodies. The data includes details of test positivity rates, vaccination, functioning of Covid first-line treatment centres, ambulances that are pressed into Covid-19 duty in each local body, updates on the jagratha portal, volunteers and the funds spent on Covid duty by each local body.
The local bodies were asked to form ward-level monitoring committees and rapid response teams to create awareness among the public about the symptoms and testing for Covid-19, undertake measures in case of emergency, ensuring that Covid-19 protocol like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing in public places, and ensuring that large-scale gathering and unsafe travel are controlled within their area.
The committees have also been given the task of ensuring that those on home isolation receive proper facilities, failing which they have to be taken to FLTCs.