PIMPRI CHINCHWAD: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has set up more than 20 fever clinics and Covid-19 testing centres to keep a tab on new Covid-19 infections at the ward level.
PCMC officials said that testing centres will focus on conducting rapid antigen tests but some of them will conduct RT-PCR tests as well.
The fever clinics will help identify people displaying Covid-like symptoms at an early stage so that appropriate medical treatment can be started.
Municipal commissioner Rajesh Patil told TOI, “The purpose of setting up these testing centres and fever clinics is to facilitate early detection of Covid cases at the ward level.
If the cases can be detected in the initial stage, it will help us control the spread of the infection to other areas within the civic limits.” Patil said that the PCMC has initiated an awareness drive against Covid-19 across the city through public address systems.
Mobile testing drives are being carried out by the health department, with a special focus on crowded markets.
Subhash Salunke, advisor to the state government on Covid-19 and former director general of health services (Maharashtra), said, “Setting up the testing centres at the ward level should remain the highest priority and we have advised the same to the district administration as well as the state government.
We cannot deny the possibility of the third wave.
Stressing on testing and contact tracing can prove to be a useful tool in the fight against Covid.” Meanwhile, the commissioner said that PCMC has been identifying places to set up the Ward Covid Centres (WCCs) to isolated mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic patients in future.