New Delhi: In a government survey of 410 district collectors and district magistrates from across the country, the officials have said that the lockdown should be extended and the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) should be increased quickly.
The ‘National Preparedness Survey on COVID 19’ was carried out by the Centre’s Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, to find out how local-level officials were dealing with the pandemic-induced crisis and whether felt equipped.
The survey was conducted online, and while 410 officers registered, not all of them answered all 23 questions. The report has taken into account only the 266 complete responses.
Of these, 47% of the officers “felt that inadequate availability of Personal Protection Equipment (masks, gloves etc.) in District/ Sub-District Hospitals is an area of concern”.
Source: Government report
In addition, 28% said not enough isolation beds were available to deal with COVID-19 patients in their areas and 60% said there were not enough ICU beds available.
“The non-availability of adequate ventilator machines in District/ Sub-District Hospitals is highlighted as an area of concern in this survey,” the highlights released by the government say.
Source: Government report
To address this, the survey report says, the government must “immediately address issues relating to procurement, logistics and supply chain for medical equipment”.
Source: Government report
There was large-scale support for the Centre’s decision to call a national lockdown, with 96% saying it is “an effective way” to curb the spread of COVID-19. However, 31% did feel the lockdown was leading to panic.
Officials also felt that awareness on the disease has been well spread and people know about it across the country. “The respondents strongly agreed that Government machinery has reached out to the people with 95% officers providing positive feedback,” the survey report says.
Most of the officials felt that the lockdown should be extended until the disease spread has been brought under the control, and said that there should be harsh penalties for all those who break the rules.
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In the action points, the survey report said officials felt more tests should be carried out so those who test positive can be isolated. “The survey highlighted the need for quick redressal of under-reported cases…on account of under-testing people due to various challenges like paucity of testing kits, no data on travel history, sudden migration of wage workers across states; as this may actually end up in further transmission.”
This also means more testing centres are required, they said.
In district-specific issues, collectors from Haryana and Gujarat reported that they were facing difficulties dealing with the movement of migrant workers who want to return home.
“Post-lockdown, thousands of migrants moved from metros to rural hinterlands. They were unwilling for health check-ups, taking samples and testing on route,” the survey says.