Over 1,000 Cuttack villages untouched by COVID-19 in second wave

CUTTACK: Despite the havoc unleashed by the second wave of Covid-19, as many as 1,028 villages in Cuttack have still managed to keep the virus at bay. As not a single case has been detected from any of the villages, the district administration has declared them ‘green zones’. The enviable record of the villages can be attributed to efforts of sarpanchs, ward members, ASHA and anganwadi workers.

This apart, awareness among the villagers who have been adhering to Covid safety protocols also helped in containing the spread of the virus.  “We have kept a close watch in our village. There is no ingress and egress of people. Besides, the residents are strictly adhering to Covid safety measures,” said villagers of Aenda in Nischintakoili block which has been included in the green zone list. 

Collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani said in view of surge in infections in rural areas, the district administration has categorised the villages into green, yellow, orange and red zones. The categorisation is done after compiling data of positive cases for 10 days. Chayani said the district is in an advantageous position as 52 per cent of its villages are in green zone.

While sarpanchs, ASHA and anganwadi workers have been asked to remain alert in villages categorised under yellow and orange zone, active surveillance is on in areas under red zone. Four OAS and ORS officers have been deployed to monitor surveillance in red zones and keep watch on infected people under home isolation.

The BDOs have been instructed to review the situation in villages under their jurisdiction and submit reports on a daily basis. Of the 1,969 villages in 14 blocks of the district, 629 are in yellow zone, 64 in orange and 148 in red zone. The highest 26 villages of Tangi-Choudwar block are in red zone.