Focused sampling to help check Covid-19 during festive season
Today, samples will be taken from drivers of tempos, rickshaws, threewheelers, bus conductors and passengers. Officials
LUCKNOW : With the festive season around, the health department has decided to undertake a 12-day focused sampling drive from Tuesday to check the presence of the novel coronavirus in the population.
Different working groups will be targeted to know the status of Covid infection in the state capital. On Tuesday, samples will be collected from drivers of tempos, rickshaws, three-wheelers, bus conductors and passengers. Addresses and contact details of all these people will be taken, according to the circular issued to teams who will collect the samples, said officials.
Similarly on Wednesday, schools and colleges will be scanned and samples of teachers, staff and students will be taken. For sampling of students below 18 years of age, consent from parents will be a must, according to the focused sampling chart.
“On Thursday, the target will be mehendi artists and staff at beauty parlours. However, customers will not be asked to give samples. On Friday, sweet shop and restaurant staff will be asked to give samples, but not customers,” said the circular. “Focused sampling will help identify asymptomatic Covid cases. Many people get infected but do not fall sick. These people can spread infection and such cases can be detected through focused sampling,” said Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary general, Association of International Doctors.
On Saturday, sampling will be undertaken among chemists, nursing home /hospital staff, including non-clinical staff and patients. On Sunday, closed campuses will be targeted including jails, bal sudhar grih, nari niketans and old age homes. Both staff and inmates in jails will be asked for samples. In the earlier round of focused sampling a week ago, 10,000 samples were collected and three persons had tested positive.