jaipur the health department will set up covid19 opd at block level community health centres to be manned by trained medical staff in the wake of rising cases in rural areasbefore rushing patients to covid care hospitals patients with difficulties in breathing will get oxygen at chc and while transportation of patients a teams of nurses asha workers and anganwadi workers will be deployed at every five gram panchayats for monitoring and random sample collectionwe have strengthened facilities for covid care in rural areas our teams equipped with pulse oximeters are continuously monitoring health of covid patients under home isolation said dr ajay chaudhary chief medical health officef sikarchaudhary said they have strengthened the referral system of patients with difficulty in breathing to higher centres at district and divisional level hospitalssince 30 of the states deaths have occurred in rural areas the health department is focusing on improving facilities for patientsa senior health department official said they have already issued directions to the chief medical health officers of respective districts to get the hrct done of patients with breathing difficulties in rural areas if treating doctors find it necessary for the purpose orders have been issued to arrange ambulance for patientsthe health department has also issued directions to officials to use emergency covid response fund for expanding the healthcare facilities in the rural areasin the first four months of the pandemic the states rural areas had reported 78 deaths accounting for 17 of the deaths reported in the state in the next four months 495 deaths took place in rural areas which accounted for 30 of the casualties