ON A WAR FOOTING
BEST DISTRICT IN COMBATING COVID-19
WINNER: Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
WHY IT WON: For adopting the mantra of ‘test, trace and treat’ to tackle the virus; providing Covid-positive households with basic medicine kits to prevent cases becoming critical; and taking up vaccination on a war footing
THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID in Ghaziabad, with its population of 4 million, was proving to be difficult initially because of patients pouring in from other districts of western Uttar Pradesh for treatment in Ghaziabad hospitals. However, adopting the basic principle of ‘test, trace and treat’ helped the district achieve great success.
From zero testing capacity till a year and a half ago, the district is now equipped to conduct 1,500 Covid tests daily. Ghaziabad was among the few districts in Uttar Pradesh that was able to eliminate its problem of oxygen shortage early on in the second wave. As per Ghaziabad district magistrate Rakesh Kumar Singh, oxygen plants have been installed at 11 locations which has now made available 4,000 LPM (liters per minute) oxygen in the district. Apart from that, about 366 oxygen beds, including ICU beds, are available in the Ghaziabad municipal area and 150 beds in the rural areas of the district.
The district’s vaccination success, too, has helped it combat Covid. As per records, Ghaziabad’s adult population stands at 2.7 million, of which over 2 million have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 750,000 both doses. With 110 vaccination centers, employing 550 staff members, established, Ghaziabad has achieved the target of administering 109,000 vaccines in a day.
For the third wave, the administration is entirely focused on its population of below 18-yearolds. Arrangements have been made for children’s ICUs (PICUs and NICUs). Even Anganwadi workers have been equipped with tablets so that they can convey information online about health conditions in rural areas.