Karnataka creates YouTube channel to teach healthcare providers on COVID-19 protocol

The Karnataka government has started a YouTube channel detailing the correct protocol to be followed for the treating COVID-19 patients.

The channel features videos on COVID-19 management for capacity building on prevention, care, support and information dissemination. At the moment, it has 10 videos both in English and Kannada. More videos will be uploaded in the coming days.

Speaking about the initiative, Commissioner of the Department of Health insurance and Family Welfare Pankaj Kumar Pandey says the channel was ways to disseminate the info quickly to healthcare personnel in Tier II and Tier III cities, as physical teams cannot be delivered to train and mentor them, while under lockdown.

“We plan to utilize this channel to attain out to the grassroots level through several village-level task teams,” Pandey said. The channel was already subscribed by 1.5 lakh doctors, nurses, ASHA employees and gram panchayat members.

The channel shares information on practising physical distancing, norms to adhere to during quarantine, procedures to follow for contact tracing etc. “Trainees can also obtain queries answered by authorities on the channel,” Pandey said. “Because of this, we conduct regular live, interactive workout sessions for gram panchayat task force members across the State.”

The content of the channel has been created by Dr P C Jaffer along with Dr Aniruddha Shravan who is facilitating working out sessions.  Sessions includes Disaster Management Strategies, Prevention - Safe Practices in the Community, Community Surveillance, Myths and Facts, Stigma and Discrimination and Personal Safety, among topics.