Mumbai: City Contact Search Program slowed to telephone-based systems from Door-to-door visits as the third wave driven by large Omicron with increasing in exponential cases.
Experts say with Coronavirus increases its spread rapidly in a short time, contact searches are no longer relevant and practical.
In January, almost two three contacts were tracked per positive patient.
Analysis of citizenship numbers reveal that the contact contacts ratio fell because the daily case is gradually installed on five digits.
From January 6 to January 8, when Mumbai reported more than 20,000 cases every day, less than two contacts were tracked per positive case.
The ratio, though, has increased in the last few days as a persistent case.
According to the norm, the team should track 15 high and low risk contacts for each patient.
“However, it is impossible to visit all positive households, screens and prepare reports at night when there are so many of them.
Therefore, we contact most on the phone, take detail their condition and check whether family members have symptoms,” Vedica said Samjiskar, a health volunteer posted with the South Mumbai ward.
BMC epidemiological cells received a positive patient list, which was shared with all 24 wards.
In every ward, there are dozens of health posts whose staff do contacts.
In January, each post suddenly has 90-120 cases to track every day, swirling from 7-10 in December.
The contract search involves visiting patient homes, filtering high-risk contacts and asking about low-risk contacts, which can become neighbors, colleagues, etc.
In the current wave, low-risk contacts are taken from the equation, said Dr.
Jitendra Jadhav, L Ward medical officer, which added that screening was mainly limited to direct family members, unlike previous waves when neighbors were also examined.
Other environmental officials admitted that tracing contracts were beaten.
Dr.
Mahendra Khandade from N Ward (Ghatkopar) said they received 500-600 positive cases every day at the top of the third wave.
“In addition to a very large load on the system for ten days, many civilian health workers signed Covid, who shrank,” he said.
Dr.
Bhupendra Patel, Moh from West M, added that they had received up to 700 cases that were too much to be handled by a team of 150 niches.
“We oversee the household with senior citizens,” he said.
Globally, in cities like New York, positive patients no longer receive calls from health authorities.
While in South Africa, the search for English contact has been relaxed.
Epidemiologist Dr.
C Lahariya said the contacts at the community level were no longer relevant.
“It’s done when a new pathogen, and you want to have it.
At that stage you also need it for quarantine purposes.
At present 90% of contacts are asymptomatic, so even if you identify some, it won’t change or stop infection,” he said.