Rural Uthaan Mission Volunteers conducted door to door mask distribution drive along with awareness on hand sanitization in Village Dablehar, R.S.Pura, Jammu
A holistic approach needs to be adopted by the administration if the spread of coronavirus to rural areas has to be curtailed. Pre-planning and a decentralized administration, with effective decision-making and implementation powers placed in the hands of the Panchayats is necessary.
The Gram Panchayats should be equipped with measures for handling breakouts. Quarantine centres need to established and managed efficiently, private and local doctors should be trained for COVID-19 handling and management.
Adequate measures should also be in place to ensure that there is no stigma and discrimination against COVID-19 patients or their families. Awareness campaigns should be organised to increase awareness regarding self-care and sanitation facilities.
A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology warns that India might be the worst-affected nation by coronavirus by the end of winter of 2021, with nearly 0.287 million cases surfacing every day in the country.
If the cases keep increasing at the current rate and the spread of the infection to the rural areas is not kept in check, the above mentioned forecasting might prove itself true and this could prove disastrous for India and its already-stretched healthcare system.
If this is to be prevented, strategic attempts to isolate the rural areas as much as possible should be made and concerted efforts need to be put in place to ensure that rules are adhered to and healthcare facilities are provided.