Odisha salutes its women warriors in battle against COVID-19

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Saturday lauded the women who are leading from the front in the battle against novel coronavirus.
Lady doctors and nurses are screening suspects and treating patients at hospitals, while auxiliary nurse midwives, Anganwadi and ASHA workers are going from house to house to check the health of people, the state”s health and family welfare department said.

Managing Director of National Health Mission Shalini Pandit is coordinating surveillance, sample collection and testing while MD of Odisha State Medical Corporation Limited Yamini Sarangi is procuring drugs, sanitiser, equipment and all protective gears for health care personnel.

“Mothers and sisters are also fighters as they are managing homes in this crisis period, asking all to wash hands frequently and putting pressure on the male members of the house not to move out unnecessarily,” the department said in a statement.

Scientists who are leading testing laboratories at the Regional Medical Research Center (RMRC), the AIIMS and the SCB Medical College and Hospital are also women, the statement said.

While RMRC director Sanghamitra Pati has been ensuring accurate testing of COVID-19 patients, AIIMS director B Githanjali looks after the treatment of coronavirus patients. Jayashree Mohanty is in charge of the COVID-19 tests in the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack.

Odisha”s Mission Shakti director Sujata Karthikeyan has been playing a key role by engaging about 70 lakh members of self-help groups in creating awareness on the disease, manufacturing masks, and cooking food for distressed people in rural and urban pockets.

When it comes to the problems of migrant workers, both from the state and outside, Labour department secretary Anu Garg has been coordinating with other states and district collectors of Odisha to ensure safe keeping of Guest workers from other states, the statement said.

(PTI)