KOLKATA: The New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) on Wednesday launched a tele-medicine centre where township residents can consult doctors about Covid-19 through Skype.
Officials said the endeavour was to clear the haze of misinformation doing the rounds on social media.
“The tele-medicine centre has been set up to cater to Covid-19 queries such as how residents can take precautions, what are the symptoms and when should one visit a doctor. The interactions will happen through Skype,” said an NKDA official.
The authorities had earlier set up a WhatsApp query line in New Town that was to be attended by NKDA medical officers but this system did not work since people prefer to speak rather than message their queries. Doctors also prefer to give advice verbally since the patient cannot be physically examined.
NKDA has also set up a task force to keep tabs on markets so that price of essential goods like eggs, vegetable and rice does not shoot up. Sufal Bangla vegetable vans are also being sent to various blocks and housing societies at appointed hours.
The task force with both NKDA and Hidco officials has identified houses where elderly residents live and the members are calling them to ensure they don’t have any problem.
“An elderly couple said they were unable to go out to the nearest neighbourhood vendor to buy vegetables as they did not have any protective mask and sanitizers. The things they needed were delivered to them by the evening,” said an official.
NKDA has been distributing masks to conservancy staff, stranded construction workers and senior citizens.
-
Download
The Times of India News App for Latest City News
-
Subscribe
Start Your Daily Mornings with Times of India Newspaper! Order Now
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/kolkata-new-town-tele-medicine-unit-to-answer-coronavirus-queries/articleshow/74961412.cms
