Migrants returning to city to be screened to curb COVID-19 spread

Amid increasing number of coronavirus cases and anticipating a second wave in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now planned to conduct a screening of migrants who returned to the city after Diwali festivals under the campaign ‘My Family My Responsibility’.

The civic officials said the healthcare workers will be visiting those houses in slums which were locked during the survey and migrants of that family have to mandatory undergo screening to avoid further spread of infections amongst others. Moreover they will be mobilising mobile clinics and testing camps in slum pockets where they notice reverse migration.

So far under this campaign, the BMC has paid visits to 35.1 lakh families in Mumbai right from the slum dwellers to the people living in high rises.

Suresh Kakani, Additional Municipal Commissioner, BMC, said they directed all the ward officers and healthcare staff of all 24 wards to conduct health camps for the migrants who have returned post-Diwali. Moreover they have asked the local practitioners to keep a close eye on slum pockets to restrict the spread of virus.

“Since the unlock began 'reverse migration' was on and most of the migrants had locked their houses and had gone to their native place due to which those have not been screened under the campaign ‘My Family My Responsibility’. Around four lakhs homes in slums were locked during the campaign in September-October, in which 18 lakhs migrants have now returned to Mumbai,” he said.

Moreover BMC will be mobilising field staff to visit houses that remained locked during the campaign. “We have directed the local general practitioners' to convince and refer the symptomatic patients to the BMC clinics for testing,” added Kakani.

Health experts have welcomed this move of the BMC stating conducting COVID-19 screening of the migrants is mandatory as they cannot take risk after there is fear of a second wave likely to occur in next month.

source https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/migrants-returning-to-city-to-be-screened-to-curb-covid-19-spread