The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic affected rural areas much more than the first wave last year.
During the first wave, the spread of the virus was largely limited to rural areas in the mandalas of Narsipatnam and Anakapalle (rural). This time, however, many cases were also reported from the agency’s areas, a senior official from the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) said The Hindu.
“In the first wave, the positivity rate in rural areas was around 5-7%, it is now 10-12%, and that can be considered high, since the overall positivity rate in the county was 35-40% until a week ago when the second wave peaked, “the official said.
However, in his opinion, there has been a decline in the positivity rate in urban areas over the past week, but it is still evident in rural and non-urban areas. As predicted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the spread of the virus in rural areas could be the next big concern, he said.
The county government admits that there are some gaps in health infrastructure in rural areas, where the spread is growing rapidly, but the gaps are being filled.
Fever poll is key
The key to tackling the pandemic in rural and tribal areas is raising fever, said ITDA project leader S. Venkateswar.
“We have already completed eight rounds of the survey and are now in the ninth round. Each survey is conducted for three days and conducted by Asha volunteers, and it’s essentially done to weed out those with symptoms from the rest of the community, said District Collector V. Vinay Chand.
Locals rise up
The collector paid tribute to the efforts of local sarpanches and local youth, saying that in many parts of the rural areas and agency areas, locals have set up their own isolation centers. The moment a person with symptoms is identified during the collection of fever, they will be transferred to the isolation ward, unless domestic isolation is provided. After admission, a rapid antigen test will be done and smears will be sent to the Trunate centers at the nearest CHC if necessary, Vinay Chand said.
If the test is positive, an isolation kit will be provided for mild cases and those in need of hospitalization will be sent to hospitals.
Hospitals
In rural areas there are 11 CHCs with 15 beds each. Some of the beds are compatible with Type B or D oxygen cylinders. “We have around 200 oxygen concentrators and they are being sent to the CHCs,” he said.
Moderate cases are transferred to the district hospitals in Araku and Narsipatnam or the district hospitals in Anakapalle and Paderu.
Both the district hospitals each have around 75 beds and the district hospitals 100 beds and all of them are compatible with oxygen bottles. Serious cases are moving to Visakhapatnam, Vinay Chand said.