COVID-19 surge | Caste outfits seek complete shutdown in Odisha’s Nuapada district
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‘We want the district administration to take steps to break the chain,’ they are saying
Amid rising issues of COVID-19 spreading deep in the agricultural pockets of Odisha’s Nuapada district and impacting the already burdened rural healthcare system, no less than 15 caste-based organisations have sought two weeks of complete shutdown in the district.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and threatening to wipe out this generation. People are reaching out, urging us to take some steps in coordination with the district administration to stop the march of the virus,” stated Prashanna Kumar Padhi, president of Brahman Samaj, Nuapada, and a key member of District All Caste Coordination Committee.
Mr. Padhi stated, “In a small district like Nuapada whose population is little more than 6 lakh, daily detection of 500 COVID-19 positive cases surely rings alarm bells. We need to protect our people first and then comes livelihood.”
According to him, in Brahmanpada below Sinapalli block of the district, as many as 11 folks had already died in the previous two months, which proved the prevalence of COVID-19 pandemic. Almost all villages of Nuapada had traces of an infection and other people have been having flu-like signs.
Similarly, Hareram Kathar, president of District Yadav Samaj, stated on a median 5 to 6 deaths have been occurring on the district COVID-19 hospital on daily basis.
“What we have come across is that most of COVID-19 patients have been asked to stay in home isolation. The temporary medical centres set up last year at panchayat level have not yet been fully established. As a result of this, patients opting for home isolation were actually causing further spread. It is gradually assuming the proportion of community transmission,” stated Mr. Kathar.
The organisations stated the administration had resorted to imposing shutdown at chosen locations, whereas it confirmed reluctance for a blanket shutdown in the district.
“We want the Nuapada district administration to mobilise all necessary drugs required to treat infected people and at the same time take steps to break the chain,” stated Mr. Padhi.
According to caste-based teams, the district doesn’t have CT-SCAN facility, which was of late discovered efficient in detecting an infection that can not be noticed in antigen and RT-PCR exams. They demanded additional strengthening of the healthcare system in view of the pandemic.
Nuapada, which shares its borders with Chhattisgarh, has been reporting a excessive variety of constructive circumstances for the previous two weeks. The take a look at positivity charge additionally hovers above 30%. A lone 160-bedded COVID-19 hospital is dealing with all constructive circumstances. The caste-based organisations stated shutdown was the one reply to interrupt the chain.
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