An effective COVID management tool
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The ACSP (Assam Community Surveillance Programme) has played a crucial role in checking the spread of the second wave of the COVID-19 in rural areas.
In 25 days from June 1-25 this year, the programme covered 2.55 crore people in 21,000 villages and screened over ten lakh. Apart from the COVID-19, the programme detected vector-borne diseases like malaria, Japanese encephalitis etc. The drive yielded 12,588 COVID-19 positive cases, including 1,724 children out of the 3.98 lakh test conducted.
According to NHM (National Health Mission) sources, the ACSP is an effective tool in the COVID-19 management in the State. Though the drive began from June 1 this year, the department had chalked out the planning in the entire month of May with the help of ASHA and field-level workers. The ASHA and field-level workers knocked on every door in rural areas and prepared lists. The teams of doctors and nurses could screen 10.23 lakh people based on the lists prepared by the ASHA and field-level workers, sources in the department said.
The sources further said that the second wave of the COVID-19 is no longer urban-centric. It made inroads into the rural areas, including tea gardens, besides having access to some 'compromising areas' with limited health facilities.
The lack of awareness among the rural populace was a challenge for the department that overcame it through the ACSP. The sources said that the detection of malaria and Japanese encephalitis in advance is a milestone achieved during the ACSP. The detection of malarial symptoms in 17,798 people during the drive is not something to reckon with as rural people seldom go for such tests, the sources said.