MUZAFFARPUR : The return of masses of migrant workers has catapulted thousands of female community health workers to the frontline of coronavirus care in rural Bihar, working without any protective gear.
So-called Accredited Social Health Activists or ASHAs are directed to visit homes for screening and tutor households about the benefits of social distancing. “We did not receive masks, gloves or hand sanitizers," said Manjula Devi, an ASHA worker from Muzaffarpur district, infamous for seasonal deaths of malnourished children due to encephalitis. “Without any public transport, we are walking across villages tracking people and noting down their details.