Door-to-door COVID-19 screening launched in Indian state

The local government in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh Thursday launched a special campaign to carry out door-to-door screening of people for COVID-19 patients, officials said.

The campaign began in Meerut division, which comprises six districts -- Meerut, Bagpat, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Hapur. Meerut division has a large number of infections in the state.

Survey teams, apart from carrying out tests, also aimed to raise awareness about the disease and to urge people to follow precautions.

Of the total COVID-19 cases in the country, Uttar Pradesh ranks at the fifth position with 24,056 cases, including 718 deaths.

Officials said the special surveillance program for COVID-19 infection tracing aims at covering every single household in the state by mid-July. A senior health official said in other divisions of the state, the campaign will start from July 5 and end by July 15.

"This kind of campaign will soon be launched in other parts of the state also," a senior official at Uttar Pradesh health department said. "The state government is also going to establish a big testing laboratory in Ghaziabad district for augmentation of COVID-19 testing."

The door-to-door surveillance is expected to increase cases in the region.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Thursday chaired a meeting with his team of ministers to review the COVID-19 preparedness in the state.

Adityanath said medical screening teams should screen people from house to house.

"After screening those who need to be treated, proper treatment should be made for them," a spokesman quoted the chief minister as saying. "The Chief Minister has also directed to promote rapid antigen test."

Health officials said during the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, communicable diseases were also likely to spread tentacles with the onset of monsoon.

A month-long parallel campaign was also launched on communicable diseases like malaria and dengue, during which patients would be identified for treatment. Besides this awareness will be thoroughly spread among the masses about these diseases.

"During the campaign against communicable diseases, volunteers would carry out door-to-door survey of people and the ailing ones would be provided medicines and children would be vaccinated," a health official in charge of the campaign said.

(CGTN)