As many as 314 persons from Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) have been infected with Covid-19 so far. However, none of them died due to the virus, Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Bishweswar Tudu told Parliament recently.
In a written reply to a question asked by Odisha’s lone Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, the Minister said all the 314 PVTG persons have recovered from the disease. No PVTG person is there either in hospital or home isolation or at a quarantine centre, he said.
Informing about the measures taken by the Odisha Government to control spread of Covid-19 in the PVTG hinterlands, Tudu said a door-to-door survey was conducted by the Community Resource Persons (CRPs) jointly with ASHA and Anganwadi Workers
About 64,214 households have been surveyed in 1679 PVTG villages so far while special vaccination camps have been held with 23,968 PVTG persons getting vaccinated. Assistance has been given to the tribal population by the Community Resource Person in COWIN registration, he said.
Masks and sanitisers have been distributed to the PVTG households. Local dialects-awareness messages in all the 13 PVTGs dialects ave been prepared and are used, Tudu said.
In the border villages, the local administration has deployed police personnel to check entry of any outsiders from neighbouring States. Teams of dedicated doctors/nurses have been constituted to look into the PVTG areas and ensure timely treatment. Oxygen and ICU facilities have been arranged for use in any case of emergency treatment. Dedicated ambulances have been kept in readiness to address exigency issues.
Besides, a control room has been opened for assistance round the clock. A CM’s relief package for all the PVTG households @ Rs 5,000 each has been announced and is being transmitted to their accounts through the DBT mode, Tudu added.
