BENGALURU: The Greater Chennai Corporation will conduct door-to-door surveillance in the city to check for potential covid-19 cases.
“It is a citywide scan of the entire population,” G. Prakash, commissioner of the GCC, told Mint. The exercise began on Sunday, the commissioner added.
The move comes at a time when covid-19 cases have shot up to alarming levels in Tamil Nadu.
The decision also adds to the precautionary measures by the city corporation as the country inches closer to the end of the 21-day nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
There are reports that a decision on the lifting of the lockdown will be taken close to 14 April based on the situation in the country. Several states have indicated that they may consider a phase-wise lifting of the curbs, depending on the number of cases.
The civic body has decided to send around 16,000 staff to every home over the next 90 days.
Chennai is spread over 426 sq km and has an estimated population in excess of seven million. According to information provided on the GCC website, there are 110 cases in the city.
“The city would be divided into units of 75-100 houses and around 16000 GCC staff would be deployed for this survey of public health profile. Every house in GCC limits will be surveyed,” the corporation said in a statement.
The southern state has so far recorded 571 positive cases including five deaths. The number of people linked to the Tabligihi Jamaat, a religious congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin, has also contributed to a higher number of cases in the state.
The GCC said it will survey all residents and identify those with symptoms like cough, fever and breathlessness. “The households will also be surveyed to identify people with hypertension, diabetes, age above 60 years old, pregnant women and patients with chronic illness,” the GCC said in a statement.
Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/covid-19-chennai-civic-body-to-conduct-door-to-door-surveillance-11586251475267.html
