SwitchON’s Covid Initiatives - Project Karuna

India is currently amidst the second wave of Covid-19, which has come much faster than the first wave. Hence, quick and effective administrative intervention is needed to arrest the rapid growth of the epidemic. SwitchON has been providing end-to-end support for Covid patients, by facilitating doctor consultation, infrastructural and logistical set-up of Covid care units, oxygen bank network and oxygen hubs, collection and redistribution Covid unused Covid medication and distribution of ration for marginalised communities.

Covid patients with mild or no symptoms have been advised to stay in home quarantine and monitor their health. However, these patients faced difficulties getting doctor’s consultations on their health conditions. SwitchON collaborated with West Bengal Doctors Forum to set up a telemedicine helpline for such patients, and launched it on 1st May. Since then, more than 15,000 calls have been received in the helpline, handled by more than 60 volunteers from various walks of life. 160 doctors associated with the West Bengal Doctors Forum have been a part of this initiative, providing free telemedicine consultation to the patients

While urban regions have been more severely affected, the number of cases in rural areas are also increasing. In West Bengal, 32.7% cases were from rural areas in March 2021, which increased to 52.6% cases in May 2021. SwitchON has reached out to some of these rural areas to provide quarantine and treatment facilities by setting up Isolation and Covid Care Unit, in collaboration with the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal. 3 such centres have been set up in Chandipur, Contai and Kolaghat regions of East Midnapur district, with a total capacity of 500 beds and staffed with 80 doctors and healthcare workers.

Medical oxygen is one of the primary treatments for the majority of patients who are suffering severe COVID-19 symptoms. There has been a dearth of medical oxygen supply for some time in the country and a disorganised oxygen supply network has been working day and night to meet the high demand of oxygen amidst this crisis. In order to address this demand-supply constraint, SwitchON Foundation has collaborated with 12 NGOs and local clubs across South Bengal and has set up 8 oxygen banks and 4 oxygen bank hubs across 8 districts of West Bengal. SwitchON has arranged for 340 cylinders of 10 and 47 litres to be stocked across the various oxygen banks and hubs. Along with that, 60 10-LPM and 100 5-LPM oxygen concentrators are also being used to supply oxygen for the Covid patients. Oxygen concentrators and cylinders are supplied directly at the patient’s house or isolation area directly from the banks by more than 100 volunteers. SwitchON has supplied oxygen concentrators to 7 Covid care centres in Darjeeling and North 24 Parganas till now.

In order to prevent wastage of Covid medication, SwitchOn joined hands with Meds For More (MFM) to collect and redistribute unused Covid medication. We are using our social media handles to sensitize people to donate unused/leftover medicines, and sharing information about collection centers. We also reached out to various groups and networks through social media and created a volunteer group to sensitize people around them to donate medicines. Currently there are three collection centres operating in the Kolkata region.

Amidst the strict restrictions imposed by the governments on vehicular and personnel movement, the slum dwelling communities are badly affected economically. SwitchON has initiated a ration and medical supply distribution drive. More than 500 ration kits, including rice, dal, mustard oil and biscuits, have been distributed in the slums of Tiljata and Alipur till now.

SwitchON is collaborating with Ikure to set up mobile testing centres targeting rural and semiurban populations that are left behind during the crisis. The FDA approved testing kits for Remote Monitoring Services and Olfactory screening will ensure early diagnosis, continuous monitoring, and tracking of population spread of COVID-19. Through these initiatives, SwitchON Foundation is determined to ensure care and support for all Covid patients, especially in rural areas or slum pockets.

Written by: SwitchON Foundation
(CLEAN Member SwitchON Foundation aims to create opportunities for 10 million underserved people by 2030)