UDHAMPUR, MAY, 22: With the Special Shramik train daily bringing an influx of stranded people of J&K back, Udhampur district was faced with the challenge of rapidly ramping up sample collection process for testing all the incoming passengers for Covid-19 before they are sent back to their homes. To meet the increased requirement of sample collection centres in the district, District Industry Centre, Udhampur has developed mobile COVID sample collection Units to be used by the health workers while collection of samples. As is well said by someone that necessity is the mother of invention, proving the same to be true for innovation, District Industry Centre developed four Government vehicles into Mobile COVID Sampling Units with slight modification without any damage so that these vehicles can easily be restored to original setting for official use. The person giving the sample stands along side of the vehicle and a nasal or oral swab is taken by the health care workers from inside the vehicle. The vehicle is so modified that there is no physical contact between the patient and the health worker. Not only this, the District Industry centre Udhampur has also developed fabricated kiosk as sample taking units in a manner that the health worker does not come in contact with the suspected patients whose sample is to be taken. The shielding screen of the kiosk restricts transmission of aerosols/droplets of a COVID-19 infected person to the health care worker.
When contacted General Manager DIC Udhampur, Suram Sharma disclosed that due to the rapid increase in requirement of COVID sampling of passengers entering Udhampur District through buses & trains, this initiative was taken on the directions of Deputy Commissioner Udhampur, Dr. Piyush Singla and local small scale units were roped in for the purpose. Chief medical Officer Udhampur has said that these mobile sample collection units helped a lot in sample collection as four mobile teams are working round the clock and samples are collected from different places. These mobile units are also collecting samples from remote areas of the district.,Similar efforts are being made to meet up the supply of Hospital equipments like beds, boxes and oxygen cylinders by DIC through small scale Industrial units during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, Industrial Associations & Chamber of Commerce have also been roped in to help fight COVID containment efforts of the district administration.