Gandhinagar:In the wake of cases of Bird Flu reported from Junagadh, Vadodara, Surat and Valsad districts, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani here today issued Standard Operating Procedure(S.O.P.) guidelines to the administration to take special care of the health officers and employees, besides volunteers of NGOS, engaged in save and treat birds under this year’s Karuna Abhiyan-2021.

Addressing a high-level meeting of senior officers of Forest and Environment, Animal Husbandry Departments concerned, he said that human beings coming in contact with birds infected with Bird Flu during treatment may also get infection.

Detailed guideline for government and non-government volunteers have been issued as follows:

– All health personnel on Karuna Abhiyan duty must follow Covid-19 protocols like wearing mask, maintaining social distancing and washing hand with soap or sanitizing as frequently as required.

– It is compulsory for all personnel during Save Bird ‘Pakshi Bachao’ / Karuna Abhiyan to wear disposable PPE suits and hand gloves.

– Since the participation of NGO volunteers is desired to tackle the Bird Flu cases, their number be restricted.

– NGOs could join the campaign, only if they can provide adequate number of PPE suits, hand gloves, plastic bags with ziplock, containers to their volunteers, besides having their own transportation facility.

– Dead birds should be handed over in plastic bags with Ziplock to the nearest Animal Husbandry Department Health Centres.

– Injured birds should be carefully carried in appropriate containers to be handed over to the nearest Animal Husbandry Health Centres.

– Containers should be properly sanitized after every use.

– The four major municipal corporations at Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara and Surat have been assigned the task of providing necessary gears and kits to their em-ployees engaged in the campaign in all wards to collect and transport to the nearest health centres from January 11 to 20.

– The State Forest and Animal Husbandry Departments have been asked to provide cooperation and guidance to the municipal commissioners.

Those present at the meeting included Additional Chief Secretary of Forest & Environment Rajiv Kumar Gupta, Director of Animal Husbandry Falguniben and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Tikedar.