Thiruvananthapuram, July 01: Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today said that the functioning of the Ward Level Committees which assist the administration in Covid preventive measures and managing those in quarantine would be strengthened in view of the increasing number of Covid-19 patients in the State.
Briefing the media, the Chief Minister said, “Those discharged from hospitals should inform the ward level committees when they go home. Similarly, those who come from outside Kerala should register on the Covid Jagratha portal. This would help the LSG bodies in making quarantine arrangements for them and also the ward level committees in monitoring them. A good 50% of those coming from outside are infected. There are reports that people coming in trains are trying to avoid quarantine. This is dangerous. Every effort would be taken to prevent such diversions.”
The Chief Minister also asked Government employees and teachers who are not able to join office at this time to be part of the Covid prevention work. District collectors should ensure this and use them to support the community volunteers. In Kasargod district, the teachers become part of ward-level committees and this should be replicated other districts as well.
He also informed that the launch of telemedicine has been of great relief to patients who cannot go to hospitals in this Covid season. It should be spread at a local level and Private hospitals should be made a part of this. At present, treatment for Covid is being done only in government hospitals. Their experience will be shared with hospitals in the private sector.
“The number of active cases is increasing and the threat of community spread is not over. Therefore, we need to be more careful and cautious. People with less immunity and other diseases need to take special attention. Information about them will be collected and dealt with. Field level monitoring and reporting will be made more effective. Details about family members of those under observation will also be collected”, he added.