The state Health authorities said they would take the help of panchayat members to track and trace foreign returnees in view of the new Covid variant,Omicron, being detected in the country.
The move is in the wake of many returnees not willing to undergo surveillance despite repeated calls being made to their mobile phones. The panchayat members will be involved in identifying such people because other than the anganwadi andAshaworkers, they have the advantage of knowing about the movement of people coming to the villages.