GS Advance Program for UPSC Mains 2025, Cohort - 1 Starts from 24th October 2024 Click Here for more information
What is the News?
The Central Government has released new guidelines in the wake of the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in rural areas.
About the Covid-19 guidelines for rural areas:
Three Tier Structure: The guidelines recommend a three-tier structure to manage Covid-19 pandemic in rural areas:
- Firstly, to establish 30-bed Covid Care Centres(CCCs) in villages to treat mild cases.
- Transforming community halls and panchayat buildings into CCCs. These centres should also be equipped with at least two oxygen cylinders.
- Secondly, Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Sub-district Hospitals shall handle moderate cases of the Covid-19 cases. Persons having an oxygen saturation level below 94 will be treated here.
- Thirdly, district hospitals or private hospitals should manage severe cases with ambulances available for the rapid transport of patients.
Other Key Covid-19 guidelines for rural areas:
- Testing: Community Health Officers(CHOs) should be trained in performing Rapid Antigen Testing(RAT). These RAT kits should be provided at all public health facilities including Sub-centres (SCs) and PHCs.
- Symptomatic Cases: The symptomatic cases can be treated at the village level after teleconsultation with the CHO. Further, the cases with comorbidity or low oxygen saturation will be sent to higher centres.
- Surveillance: In every village, active surveillance should be done for influenza-like illness. This will periodically be held by ASHA workers. The Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committee(VHSNC) will help ASHA workers in this regard.
- Ayush Doctors: Qualified AYUSH doctors, final year AYUSH students or final year B.Sc nurses may be considered to run the Covid Care Centres(CCCs).
- Contract Tracing: The guidelines also focused on the need for contact tracing at every level.
- Covid kit: Each Covid-19 household would get a “home isolation kit” with paracetamol, ivermectin, multivitamin tablets. The kit will also have provisions for periodic measurements of patients’ oxygen level and fever.
Source: Indian Express