Villages in Punjab that meet the 100% COVID-19 vaccination goal will receive a special development grant of Rs 10 lakh, according to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
In light of the increase in coronavirus cases in rural areas, the aim of this grant is to incentivize villagers to abandon vaccine hesitancy, he said while communicating online with village panchayats.
According to an official statement, he also urged sarpanches (village heads) and panches (members) throughout the state to lead their villages in the battle against COVID-19 as part of the state government’s “Corona Mukt Pind Abhiyan.”
The chief minister encouraged them to encourage people to get tested, even though they only have minor symptoms, and to get vaccinated.
He told the sarpanches that his government had already granted them permission to use up to 5,000 rupees per day from panchayat funds for emergency COVID care, with a total limit of 50,000 rupees.
In the battle against the pandemic, he asked the panchayats to organize special medical camps and enlist the help of ex-servicemen.
He asked the sarpanches and panches to launch “theekri pehra” (patrolling by a group of villagers) in their villages to keep infected people out and to ensure that those whose oxygen saturation level drops below 94 percent get the proper care.
He advised village residents to isolate themselves quickly in the event of any signs and to get screened to ensure early identification of the infection. “Any complacency or laxity on their part could lead to serious problems later on, which can be fatal,” Mr Singh said.
The state government is attempting to obtain adequate vaccine supplies from various sources for inoculation of the 18-44 age group, as well as requesting more vaccine doses from the Centre for its population over 45 years, according to the chief minister.
While the number of cases has decreased from about 9,000 a day to 6,947 on May 17, the situation remains dire, with many people still dying, primarily because they seek medical help too late, he added.
This, he added, was shown by the fact that level 2 (moderate illness) beds were 64 percent full and level 3 beds were 85 percent full (severe illness).
“Had these people sought medical aid at an initial stage, several precious lives could have been saved,” the chief minister added.
He said home isolation patients are also being given food kits comprising 10 kg atta, 2 kg chana, 2 kg sugar for each member of the family, in addition to 10 kg atta being provided by the Government of India.
