The Goa government has announced a community door-to-door survey to be completed in three days in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Around 7,000 enumerators will be involved in surveying people across the state for flu-like symptoms and travel histories, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced.
The data from the survey, which will be held across three days between April 13 and 15, will then be processed by the Goa health department and accordingly, persons who display flu-like symptoms or those with travel history will be tested for coronavirus and isolated, if necessary.
Government employees including health staff, government and aided school teachers will pan out across the state in pairs with a questionnaire that families will be expected to fill.
“We are launching a community survey in the whole state. They have been given a format, travel history details, flu symptoms or any other signs symptoms,” Sawant said on Monday, calling on residents to cooperate with the enumerators and give the right information regarding their travel history.
The survey is expected to cover everyone, including those living in makeshift camps along the construction sites, beach shack workers, those within industrial estates among others who are not usually covered.
The survey is being done as part of a move to lift the lockdown in the week following April 14 when the 21 day period ends. Those who display symptoms or those who have travel history will be subjected to a rapid antibody test which, if positive, will be tested using the more detailed PT-PCR test for the Covid-19.
Goa has registered seven persons who tested positive for coronavirus, six of them have travel history but entered the state before the lockdown began. The seventh patient contracted it from his brother who had a travel history. With the state’s borders sealed, the government hopes no new additional patients will be found over the coming eight days.
The Goa government also announced a 20% hike in wages for frontline workers at the coronavirus hospital including the sweepers and security guards. The government will also separately lodge those working at the Goa Medical College and Hospital in hotels so that they do not risk infecting their families if they happen to contract the disease.
