You have been appointed as Nodal officer to monitor COVID-19 situation in your
district. You need to recruit doctors on contract basis. Draft a classified advertisement
to insert in a local daily. Draft your classified in about 50 word.
Answers
Answer:
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
On 31st December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) China Country Office was
informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected in Wuhan
City, Hubei Province of China. On 7th January 2020, Chinese authorities identified a new
strain of Coronavirus as the causative agent for the disease. The virus has been renamed by
WHO as SARS-CoV-2 and the disease caused by it as COVID-19. The disease since its first
detection in China has now spread to over 200 countries/territories, with reports of local
transmission happening in more than 160 of these countries/territories. As per WHO (as of 1
st
April, 2020), there has been a total of 823626 confirmed cases and 40598 deaths due to
COVID-19 worldwide.
In India, as on 2
nd April, 2020, 1965 confirmed cases (including 51 foreign nationals) and 50
deaths reported from 29 States/UTs. Large number of cases has been reported from Delhi,
Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.
1.2. Risk Assessment
COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by WHO on 11th March, 2020. While earlier the focus
of spread was centered on China, it has now shifted to Europe and North America. WHO has
advised countries to take a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach, built around a
comprehensive strategy to prevent infections, save lives and minimize impact.
In India also, clusters have appeared in multiple States, particularly Kerala, Maharashtra,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Karnataka, Telangana and UT of Ladakh. 211
districts are now reporting COVID-19 cases and the risk of further spread remains very high.
1.3. Epidemiology
Coronaviruses belong to a large family of viruses, some causing illness in people and others
that circulate among animals, including camels, cats, bats, etc. Rarely, animal corona viruses
may evolve and jump species to infect people and then spread between people as witnessed
during the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS, 2003) and Middle East
Respiratory Syndrome (MERS, 2014). The etiologic agent responsible for current outbreak of
SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus closely related to SARS-Coronavirus.
In humans, the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 can occur via respiratory secretions (directly
through droplets from coughing or sneezing, or indirectly through contaminated objects or
surfaces as well as close contacts). Nosocomial transmission has been described as an
important driver in the epidemiology of SARS and MERS and has also been documented in
COVID-19.
Current estimates of the incubation period of COVID range from 2-14 days, and these
estimates will be refined as more data become available. Most common symptoms
include fever, fatigue, dry cough and breathing difficulty. Upper respiratory tract symptoms