Karnataka govt orders provision of medical facilities for civic healthcare staff

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government directed municipal corporations in cities and towns across the southern state to provide all medical facilities to their healthcare warriors engaged in containing the coronavirus pandemic, an official said on Thursday.

“As poura-karmikas (civic workers) are doing yeoman service to control the spread of covid pandemic, city corporations and town municipalities across the state should be given personal protection equipment (PPE), gloves, gumboots, masks and sanitisers for the safety of their health,” said state health commissioner A.K. Pandey here.

The health status of each civic worker will be monitored regularly using thermal scanners and pulse oximetres on a daily basis by the supervisory staff at ward level.

“In a civic worker reports being unwell, a swab test should be taken through RT-PCR or rapid antigen test and shifted to a designated hospital if the result is positive,” said Pandey.

In the event of death during the pandemic, the civic staff will be entitled to benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana or the state government’s insurance scheme.

There are an estimated 25,000 civic workers across the state, including regular and on contract.

According to the health department’s bulletin, the state has 67,448 active cases out of 1,12504 positive cases reported till Wednesday, after 42,901 were discharged, while 2,147 succumbed to the infection till date since March 9, with Bengaluru accounting for about 60 of the cases.

Source: NK