Covid cases in Sirmaur's rural areas a new task

Ambika Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Solan, May 20

The fast-spreading coronavirus in rural areas has become a cause for concern for the district authorities of the bordering areas such as Sirmaur.

More and more villages are becoming hypersensitive zones, and it is a Herculean task to contain the virus in far-flung areas, which are devoid of testing labs and healthcare facilities.

DC, Sirmaur, RK Pruthi said against 211 infection-free panchayats in April, the number gradually declined to 188 a few weeks ago and to around 50 in the past one-and-a-half month.

“Of the 143 hypersensitive areas in Sirmaur district, most of them are rural hamlets where the number of Covid cases is fast increasing. There were eight hypersensitive areas in the district about a month and a half ago, but the number has increased speedily,” said Pruthi.

“This was a cause for concern and representatives of the panchayati raj institutions have been directed to stop any undue movement of people. Healthcare workers are personally visiting people in isolation to monitor their health status,” added Pruthi.

Kamlad, Neharti Baghot, Bhatanwali, Kolar, Narag, Jaman Ki Ser, Sangra, Nohradhar, Habban, Tikker villages have reported 20 to 132 cases.

As the RT-PCR testing is confined to urban areas and RAT tests are being done in rural areas, it appears that many positive cases are not getting traced. This could also lead to Covid spread. “As many as 924 tests per day were done in the district in the past one week and effort is being made to enhance testing, especially in the rural areas to detect more cases,” added Pruthi.

Late arrival of patients in hospitals, not using masks and ignoring social distancing norm, besides marriages where large crowds congregate lead to the spread of Covid and rising deaths in rural areas, he said.