The East Singhbhum district administration has ramped up Covid testing in steel city with addition of one more centre that's working out of the community hall at Biswajeet Manimela ground at Bistupur here on Tuesday.
The facility at Manimela ground is the seventh in Jamshedpur. Six Covid testing centres are already functioning at Sidhgora Town hall, Community Health Centre in Olidih (Mango), Tarun Sangh in Kadma, Community Health Centre in Kagalnagar (Sonari), Jail Chowk in Sakchi and M.E. School in Jugsalai.
With Covid cases witnessing a spike in Jamshedpur, the district administration swung into action to set up an additional testing unit.
Jamshedpur circle officer Amit Kumar Srivastav said an additional Covid testing centre was needed so that more people could undergo tests. “Six Covid testing centres are already functioning in different localities of the city and another such facility would help more people to undergo tests,” he added.
Over 40,000 people have so far tested positive for Covid-19 in the past one year during the first and second waves of the pandemic in East Singhbhum. Two persons were the first to test positive at Chakulia (in East Singhbhum) in May last year.
Amid the rising number of Covid cases, the district police on Tuesday continued their mega mask and helmet checking drive. Police conducted the drive in the presence of DSP (Headquarter 1) Birender Ram, DSP (Headquarter 2) Kamal Kishore, DSP (Crime Control Room) Arvind Kumar, DSP (Traffic) Babban Singh and officer in-charges of Mango, Olidih and Azadnagar at Mango, Azadnagar and Ulidih localities.
The drive to ensure people were masks and two-wheeler drivers helmets was conducted near Azad Marriage Hall in Azadnagar. But local residents gathered and protested against the campaign. They said police were slapping fines on people at a time when shops were closed and business was adversely affected. Police later discontinued the drive and returned from the spot.
Police are conducting similar drives at various other areas of the steel city.
