Fight pandemic in competitive spirit, local bodies told

Rajeeve hands over oxygen concentrators to PHCs in Kalamassery constituency

Industries Minister P. Rajeeve on Saturday called on local bodies to take up the mission of combating COVID-19 in a spirit of competition. Local bodies should take up the fight so that the local economies could be brought back to normality, he said here. He was speaking to reporters after handing over oxygen concentrators to primary health centres under the local bodies within the Kalamassery Assembly constituency. The oxygen concentrators can be borrowed by COVID-19 patients, who are under treatment in their homes. Once their use is over, the devices can be returned to the respective primary health centres to be borrowed again by other patients in need of the device. Kalamassery municipality and Kadungalloor panchayat received two devices each as these local bodies have two health centres each. The other PHCs are under Eloor municipality and Karumaloor, Alangad and Kunnukara panchayats. The devices were contributed by Malayali expatriates in Germany. Mr. Rajeeve said that if the test positivity rate was brought down to less than 8%, local activities could come back to normal and it would help the people in a big way. He praised the health workers, who had ensured that the vaccine available in the State was used optimally.