Over 13,500 people return to Meghalaya

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 6, 2020

Over 13,500 people, who were stranded in different parts of the country, have come back to the state.

A government statement on Saturday said there were 13,509 people who have returned to the state till 2 pm today.

The state has witnessed a rapid increase in COVID-19 positive cases as people continue to return to their native places.

So far 19 returnees have been tested positive for coronavirus and are either kept at quarantine centres or shifted to COVID hospitals.

The government informed that a total of 10,343 samples have been sent for testing, of which 9,980 were negative while the test result of 330 samples is awaited.

As many as 5365 persons (entrants from outside of Meghalaya) have been contacted through IVRS till 9 pm of June 5.

With regards to contact tracing details, the statement said there are 137 high risk contacts and 87 low risk contacts while 741 persons are kept under institutional quarantine.

On the health infrastructure, it was informed that there are  2,09,216 PPEs, 6,30,000 3-ply masks and 2,06,086 N95 masks.

The government also informed that 26,619 persons have been visited in their homes by health workers till 2 pm on Saturday.

On the surveillance activities on COVID 19, it said registration of all returnees from outside the state is mandatory through the Corona Web App.

All returnees will have to undergo temperature screening, rapid test kit and RT-PCR if they have come from high risk areas outside the state. Various screening points have been setup across the state. Districts also have been empowered to handle entrants in case of need.

For those whose transportation is arranged by state, they are kept at quarantine facilities until the results arrive. After receiving test reports the negative cases are advised home quarantined for a period of 14 days with a provision of a home quarantine diary containing instructions which they are to strictly follow and update on a daily basis. A self reporting diary is developed

Home visits are being conducted by the districts surveillance units along with Community COVID Management teams. If they develop symptoms they are to contact the district helpline number or 108.

Contact tracing of positive cases is carried out by the district surveillance units if anyone turns positive and sample collection of high risk cases for RT-PCR is done at the earliest to avoid any transmission, the statement said.

Further, the government has also taken initiatives for the elderly persons and for elderly with comorbidity factors like cancer, hypertension, diabetes, cardio vascular diseases etc.

A self reporting diary with check list for the elderly is prepared. A check list is also prepared for care-givers and community health workers to guide them in advising the Senior Citizens and those with co-morbid conditions.

The statement said line listing of elderly people is compiled at the district level. Training on nutrition aspect and safety measures during COVID era will be imparted to them.

Meanwhile, the state is also planning to train the citizens on preventive measures awareness of COVID 19 to all different sections of the society vis. drivers, traders and community as a whole.