Coronavirus in Chennai: Number of surveillance workers cut by 45% – Times of India

CHENNAI: The number of door-to-door surveillance workers has been cut by 35%-60% in each of the 15 corporation zones based on the number of active Covid-19 cases. From July 1, there will be 6,534 such workers against 11,879 earlier (45% reduction). This is as per ICMR guidelines, corporation officials said.
There were 3,307 active cases in the city as on June 30, with Adyar having the highest (341), and Sholinganallur and Thiruvottiyur the least with 99 and 95 cases. There were 275 fresh cases in the city on June 29. A day later, there were 257 fresh cases and active cases dropped to 3,121.
Surveillance workers will continue to cover all homes, but it won’t be daily, a decision taken days after the corporation closed down at least 15 Covid care centres and nine screening centres. To cut down on maintenance costs and salary expenses , the civic body will now maintain one screening centre per region and one covid care centre per zone. Besides, only one car ambulance will stationed at each regional office. The 765 oxygen concentrators at oxygen parlours will now be stored at urban primary health care centres as will beds and cots.
Among Covid care centres, those at Chennai Trade Centre, Nandambakkam, Athipattu and Anna University among others will not be handed back. “They have been closed as there are no patients but we want to be prepared for the third wave,” said an official.
Zonal enforcement teams will continue to monitor Covid protocol for another two months. The 200 final year MBBS students at tele counselling centres were relieved on Tuesday as were 5,000-odd fever surveillance workers. Doctors and paramedical staff recruited on a contract basis will be mobilized for non-communicable disease monitoring.
Manish Narnaware, deputy commissioner (health), said: “We will continue all activities. We are just reducing the labour as the number of cases have come down. Ad hoc vaccination centres will continue and based on availability, we are prepared to vaccinate at least 50,000 a day.” On Tuesday, 25.5 lakh people above 18 years of age were vaccinated.
The civic body will save ?7crore in salaries every month by cutting down fever surveillance workers.