UP govt to equip grassroots Covid warriors with infra

LUCKNOW: To flatten the spiraling Covid graph in the state, the UP government has decided to initiate swift procurement of pulse oximeters and infra-red thermometers to equip corona warriors at the grassroots, particularly those deployed by municipal corporations, nagar palika parishads, nagar panchayats. The move is seen as the government’s bid to fast-track surveillance and ascertain the spread of pandemic, which has gripped more than 63,000 people and claimed 1,400 lives.


In a communique to municipal commissioners and heads of nagar palika parishads and nagar panchayats on July 24, special secretary, urban development, Sanjay Singh, said, procurement of equipment should be done quickly to equip teams constituted by the state government to carry out door-to-door surveillance. Singh said, the survey teams will zero in on districts with high Covid count to fast-track testing. On July 20, the local bodies’ directorate pressed for utilizing funds of urban local bodies’ or state finance commission to purchase two Corona detection equipment.

Officials said, these will be provided to teams after sanitization. The UP government’s bid to step up surveillance comes close on heels of chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s directive to ramp up testing to 1 lakh per day. Also, chief secretary R K Tiwari directed all district magistrates on July 20 to accelerate identification of patients and screen samples through antigen kits. The chief secretary emphasized on arrangement of pulse oximeters, infra-red thermometers and sanitizers from local bodies’ funds. The government’s decision to expedite surveillance also comes a week after the state health department pitched for setting up of integrated command and control centres in every district to keep a tab on Corona cases.

In the letter, Singh said, procurement of equipment would be done as per rules laid by the government in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.