How Gajapati District Turned The Table In The Fight Against Covid-19

Bhubaneswar: The battle against Covid-19 pandemic is not yet over. The number of infected persons is rising day by day and so also the number of recovered persons. Administrations which acted swiftly and timely in managing the pandemic are at an advantage today. In Odisha, Gajapati is one such district which has shown that proper management of the available resources and planning in a pragmatic way can work wonders in the fight against Covid-19. If the available data is analyzed, we can say that a success story is being written in this densely tribal populated district of Odisha in the fight against Coronavirus.

Surrounded with pristine landscape and a porous inter-state border with Andhra Pradesh of about One hundred kilometers, Gajapati District has a unique geographical identity. It has some of the remotest tribal areas of the country with high percentage of indigenous people. The demographic structure of the district also shows a good percentage of young people migrating to other areas of the country for livelihoods.

With the detection of the first few coronavirus cases in the state, the district administration led by Collector Anupam Saha swung into action and started taking steps to prevent the spread of the alien disease. The return of migrants to the district from other parts of the country was the main reason for the initial rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the district. Till date 15819 migrants have returned to their homes in the district – a sizable number when compared to the total population of the district at about six lakhs. The administration set up a large number of quarantine centers in the urban areas and hinterlands to keep the returning migrants in quarantine. It was also one of the first districts in Odisha to extend the quarantine period to 14 days. The first case of Coronavirus in Gajapati district was detected in the Month of May and since then recorded a constant rise till the third week of August 2020. There was a time when the district was placed in the top four positions in terms of number of infections. But today it is nowhere in the top fifteen districts. It has shown us that better management of the healthcare services and administrative powers will definitely lead to success in fighting the Coronavirus.

As on date, Gajapati district has reported about 3340 positive cases of Coronavirus, of which 3129 have already recovered. The district has today one of the lowest active cases at 188 only. Active surveillance and proper grassroots level management of various enforcement decisions have helped the district administration a lot. Formation of Ward Level Committees to monitor the situation and take necessary action helped the administration in keeping itself updated with the ground realities. Effective utilization of PRI infrastructure and extending Collector’s powers to village Sarapanchas play a crucial role in grassroots management of the pandemic.

Guarding the borders from influx of people including migrants from the neighboring district of Andhra Pradesh was one of the important tasks for the district administration. The administration was quick to act and set up a Naka Point with permanent structure for round the clock checking of vehicular movement. The Naka Point at the inter district and state boundary was equipped with CCTV to have full proof surveillance. There were 18 border check points of which 5 were with the Ganjam District. All were kept in a constant watch for movement of people.

In the healthcare sector, the Gajapati district administration has made tremendous improvements since the outbreak of the pandemic. The thrust of the administration has been on three Ts – testing, tracking and treatment. As part of this, the administration ramped up the number of Coronavirus tests and about 40 thousand people have already been tested for the disease. At present more than a thousand tests are being carried put at various testing centers of the district daily. The district’s positivity rate is just about 2.4 percent which is much lower when compared to other districts. The Covid-19 positivity rate has been reducing significantly in Gajapati district over the period of last three months.

Commenting on the testing strategy, Collector Anupam Saha Said “the administration’s thrust has been on extensive testing. The robust call center set up by the health department has been tracing the health of people who are in home isolation. While a dedicated health team is engaged in the check up of home isolation persons, RRTs have been engaged in urban areas who are visiting various areas round the clock.” Regular inspection of Home Isolation patients with thermal screening and oxymeters has ensured that the patients are well and don’t need to be sent to the hospitals. Medical officers are regularly visiting the home isolation facilities to check that proper guidelines are adhered.

The Dedicated Covid Hospital in the outskirts of district headquarter town Parlakhemundi has a capacity of 110 beds and has an additional 10 ICUs with all advanced facilities. At the time of writing the news, only about 10 Beds were occupied indicating that there is no emergency need for extra Beds. Also, the district has two Covid Care centers having 470 beds for treatment of mild and asymptomatic patients.

The two urban areas – Paralakhemundi Municipality and Kashinagar NAC are at a heightened surveillance because of their susceptibility. The Health Department opened fever clinics in each and every ward of the Municipality and NAC to cater to the needs of general public. The administration has also taken steps for special camps for Covid-19 testing of people. A serological survey was also carried out by the RMRC in town.

The success of the district administration can be attributed to the thousands of grassroots level Covid-19 fighters including officials, ANMs, Teachers, Anganwadi Karmis and healthcare personnel. Some of the Covid warriors also laid down their lives in the battle against Coronavirus. Today, the number of infections in Gajapati District is at low level due to the dedication showed by its administration and law abiding citizens. In the last six months, the administration was given all help by the state government led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik whose sole aim is no person should suffer due to Corona. While additional manpower was made available, the state government also deputed special officers for the fight against Covid-19.

Creating awareness about social distancing, wearing mask and practicing hygiene was a priority for the government and it seems worked in the positive. According to Anupam Saha, District Collector, “the most challenging task at the hands of the administration was to guard the 100 kilometer border with Andhra Pradesh. Once we took control of the movement of people between the two states, the situation came under control. “”Also, the areas in most of the seven blocks of the district consist of tribal people who were needed to be sensitized about the Corona virus. We had to take the help of various grassroots level strategies to make people aware of the social distancing norms. “