The Jharkhand health department has asked all the deputy commissioners of 24 districts to prepare a database of immune-compromised and high risk patients at the earliest and conduct routine RT-PCR and TrueNat tests for Covid-19.

In a directive issued to the deputy commissioners on Thursday, secretary health, Jharkhand government has given stress on ‘Test, track and treat’ strategy to curb growing Covid-19 cases and as part of this effort has asked all the deputy commissioners to direct district health units and in-charge of the non-communicable diseases to start preparing database of all such high risk patients.

“The database of all such immune-compromised and high risk patients suffering from HIV, under dialysis, TB, heart and kidney diseases and cancer patients should be prepared district wise and should be available with the surveillance and district health teams for routine RT-PCR and TrueNat testing for Covid-19. The district administration should arrange for Covid-testing at camps near to residence of such patients by informing such patients well in advance. Ideally the camps should be conducted on a weekly basis,” the letter states.

The directive also directs the district administration to ensure routine checking of other frontline workers who interact with large number of masses like public transport drivers, bank staff, front desk workers, post office personnel and private couriers, food delivery workers, hotel staff, industrial workers, civic body officials, health staff, street vendors and vegetable sellers, workers in bus terminus and railway station.

It also advises district administration to undertake sample collection and testing through mobile vans in urban slums while asking district administration to take help of NGOs, civil societies and other organisations in undertaking awareness about preventive steps and symptoms of Covid-19.

Significantly, the state had in the last week of March directed respective deputy commissioners to undertake sample collection and testing of all persons coming from states of Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Chhattisgarh by air, road and rail.

Incidentally, the state registered 693 positive cases on Wednesday with a total of 124201 positive cases out of which 120263 have been discharged after recovery. The state has a positivity rate of 4.94 per cent as against national average of 6.5 per cent and recovery rate of 96.83 per cent as against national average of 93.90 per cent.