Guwahati, May 5 () The Assam government firmed upplans to start community based surveillance for Severe AcuteRespiratory Infections (SARI) and Influenza Like Illness (ILI)across the state in order to contain the possible spread ofCOVID-19.
To carry forward this programme and monitor it on adaily basis, a State Level Task Force and a State LevelCoordination Committee have been set up.
A set of guidelines has been issued through thestandard operating procedure for Assam Community SurveillancePlan (ACSP) for COVID-19' on Monday night and the governmentwill start to execute the initiative from Thursday in alldistricts.
However, the surveillance shall commence from May 6 inKokrajhar, Kamrup Metropolitan, Jorhat, Sonitpur and Cachardistricts, where five Zonal Screening Camps will be set up forpeople coming from outside the state.
"Assam has been successful in breaking the chain oftransmission and containment of COVID-19 epidemic in the statein first phase. In order to strengthen the response mechanismgoing forward, the surveillance system has to be strengthenedfurther.
"It has been increasingly felt that with the increasein the testing capacity, the surveillance mechanism should beenhanced to cover all SARI and ILI cases so that they areidentified from the hospitals and the community respectivelyand tested," the document said.
The objective of the ACSP has been defined as toidentify any COVID-19 transmission, find unreported cases ofSARI and ILI from every village, look for any clustering ofsuch cases in a specific area, treat symptomatic minor flucases at homes and create a database of such persons,including the migrant population.
This exercise will also strengthen the surveillancefor other diseases associated with fever like Japaneseencephalitis, malaria, dengue, measles and rubella, said thestandard operating procedure issued by Health and FamilyWelfare Principal Secretary Samir K Sinha.
It also said that ACSP will ensure that all SARI andILI cases are tested for COVID-19, followed by mapping andlinking the places and accordingly plan for adequate beds andICU facilities.
For smooth operations of the ACSP programme, a StateLevel Task Force is constituted under the chairmanship of thePrincipal Secretary of the Health and Family WelfareDepartment.
"The role of the Task Force is to guide and review theprogramme and issue necessary policy directions from time totime," the document said.
Similarly, a State Level Coordination Committee isformed under the Commissioner and Secretary of the Health andFamily Welfare Department to look after the day-to-day affairsof the programme and provide directions to the DeputyCommissioners to make the surveillance a success.
All the DCs will be responsible for the implementationof the ACSP, but it will not be carried out in the containmentzones as active surveillance is already in place in theseareas.
According to the Health and Family Welfare Departmentof Assam as on Monday night, the state has tested a total of12,775 samples for novel coronavirus, of which 42 have beenfound positive and one has died. Thirty-two have been curedand released from hospitals.
However, as per the Union Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare, Assam has reported 43 confirmed cases forCOVID-19 so far. TRNN NN
Next Story
Scientists think they’ve spotted 60 potential alien power plants in the Milky Way!
Bread, butter, milk-based health drinks, cooking oils classified as ultra-processed food, ICMR advises restriction
Debt, equity holders approve merger of IDFC with IDFC First Bank
Sunrisers Hyderabad to take on Punjab Kings as they look to grab the second spot in IPL points table
10 health benefits of eating Papaya in summer
