8,000 calls made via Assam health helpline every day since start of lockdown

A whopping 8,000 calls on an average were made every day through the Assam government's Sarathi 104 Health Helpline to disseminate information on novel coronavirus since the lockdown was announced in the state on March 22, according to a statement. The helpline has been offering medical advice 24x7 to callers every day in the state which so far has 26 positive COVID-19 cases. Calls are also made by the authorities to using that number to know the condition of the people under quarantine.

The 104 Health Helpline of the state government was set up in partnership with Piramal Swasthya Management and Research Institute (PSMRI), a not-for-profit organisation, and the National Health Mission (NHM) in 2010 to provide information on healthcare issues. Between March 22, when the lockdown was announced, and April 3, the team has collectively reached out to 16,362 quarantined people of the state through outbound calls and attended to 80,856 incoming calls, a PSMRI release said.

So, a total of 97,218 calls were made in 12 days using that helpline number, meaning over 8101 calls on an average per day. Giving details of the incoming calls, the release said people ring up the helpline to report symptoms and seek advice.

On outbound calls, it said the helpline team under the directions of the NHM and the state government reached out to an exhaustive list of individuals who have migrated to Assam and have been asked to quarantine themselves at home. These people are contacted to check on their well- being, symptoms developed, if any, and adherence to quarantine norms, the PSMRI said.

Since Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made an appeal to people on reporting any individual with a travel history to any place outside Assam via Sarathi 104, the team has received calls from citizens coming forward and voluntarily reporting the cases, the release said. The information is shared on real-time with the state government to provide the necessary support to the individual, the release said.

"While the country is under lockdown for safety, our team is working round-the-clock to ensure that there is enough awareness related to COVID-19 among the marginalised communities," the release quoted Paresh Parasnis, CEO of Piramal Foundation under the aegis of which PSMRI operates, as saying..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)