Half of Chhattisgarh’s villages have become COVID-free, says the state govt

Of the total 20,000 villages in the state, 9,462 villages have been declared 'corona-free' by the state government which claims testing and treatment facilities were made available even before the virus could affect these villages.

Gaon Connection
| Updated: Last updated on June 8th, 2021,

The testing capacity was also reportedly increased from 22,000 samples a day to 70,000 samples. Photo: By arrangement

Nearly 10,000 of the total 20,000 villages in Chhattisgarh have been declared COVID-free today by the state government. This means these villages do not have a single active COVID-19 patient.

As per news reports, 9,462 villages in Chhattisgarh are ‘corona-free’. These include 402 of 957 villages in BalodaBazar district, 311 of 702 villages in Bemetara, 491 of 579 villages in Bijapur, 158 of 229 villages of Dantewada, 377 of 385 villages in Durg, 342 of 722 villages in Gariband, 792 out of 1,084 villages in Kanker, 832 out of 1,035 villages in Kabirdham, 407 of 569 villages in Kondagaon, 352 out of 638 villages of Koriya, 362 of 422 villages in Narayanpur and 1,204 out of 1,599 villages in Rajnandgaon are now coronavirus-free, claimed the state government.

Door-to-door surveys by women health workers were taken to achieve this task. As per the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Office, medicines, testing and treatment facilities were made available even before the virus could affect these villages.

The testing capacity was also reportedly increased from 22,000 samples a day to 70,000 samples. For this new labs were also established. The number of beds in district hospitals have been reportedly increased and new COVID Care Centers have been set up in villages.

Apart from Chhattisgarh, a number of other states have launched their own initiatives to curb the spread of the virus in rural areas.

To contain the spread of COVID in villages, the Jharkhand government on May 23 launched the door to door survey in almost 4,400 panchayats across 24 districts in the state.

The ANMs (auxiliary nurse midwives), CHOs (community health officers), MPWs (multipurpose health workers) and sahiya didis (government sponsored health activists) are being trained to take oxygen readings by using an oximeter and identify symptoms in COVID19 suspects in the villages.

Also Read: Emphasis on rural areas as Jharkhand launches door to door campaign in villages to screen people for COVID19

Meanwhile Uttar Pradesh launched a campaign aimed at extensive screening of people in rural areas. It also included counselling of rural inhabitants by health officials and ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers to raise awareness about the precautionary measures and safety practices to control the spread of infections.

Also Read: UP govt launches a special screening drive across 97,409 villages to check COVID spread

On May 21, the Uttar Pradesh government also launched ‘mera gaon, corona mukt gaon’ campaign to declare villages free from coronavirus infection. Villages that declare themselves COVID-free will be rewarded.

Also Read: UP govt launches ‘Mera Gaon, Corona Mukt Gaon’ campaign