Fever survey conducted for 'namesake' in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: The door-to-door fever survey, launched to identify symptoms and treat coronavirus early, has been done in a mere 'ritualistic' manner in Visakhapatnam.

Of the six-phased survey schedule, two were already concluded. In many prime localities across the city, no ANM, volunteer and ASHA worker knocked the doors of the houses to take the exercise forward.

The secretariat staff gave a skip to carry out the survey in many neighbourhoods that fall under the ambit of GVMC limits both in the first and second phases which started from the 15th of this month. The staff did not even contact the residents for the survey at least over the phone.

The situation is similar at Kurmannapalem, Gopalapatnam, NAD Kotha Road and Vepagunta, MVP Colony and Seethammadhara, among other places. "So far, we have not seen any volunteer stepping into our house or my neighbours'. We have only heard that a fever survey will be held. But nothing as such is done so far," says D Narayana Rao, a resident of Kurmannapalem.

However, the staff is actively engaging in the survey in areas where they have prior information about their superiors visiting the locality to monitor the exercise. Officials concerned decided to conduct the survey within the GVMC limits from May 15 to June 1 in six phases.

As per the guidelines, the ward secretariat staff has to visit each house six times to collect the details. If a person has any symptoms of coronavirus, he or she should inform the medical officer.

Before the entire exercise takes place, the house survey plays an imperative role in identifying the patients. However, negligence is witnessed on the part of the staff to take the initiative forward.

Owing to the lapses in the fever survey, Chittoor District Collector M Hari Narayanan took a crucial decision of suspending the salaries of the employees involved in taking the survey across five mandals.

As an effective preventive mechanism, denizens hope that at least the rest of the phases of the fever survey in Visakhapatnam should be done meticulously.