Shillong, April 19: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma today said that all patients tested positive are stable.On positive case from Mawtharia village, Pomlakrai under Mylliem Block in East Khasi Hills, the Chief Minister informed that Durbar Shnong has resolved to provide all necessary support to the family of the person who tested positive for COVID19.
“Is is a wonderful story of how the villagers came together to really handle this situation and I think this is an example that must be followed and replicated in the future if their are such incidents in any other part of the State,” the Chief Minister said.
“The village has decided that they will take care of the household in terms of food and other essentials as they are in home quarantine and cannot come out to buy ration,” the Chief Minister added.
“The Health Department has collected samples from the 36 primary contacts of the positive individual from the village, the result of which is awaited,” the Chief Minister informed while adding that Health Minister A.L. Hek had also made a visit to the said village and met the Durbar and the village elders.
He also informed that to effectively monitor home quarantine, the government is using the Corontine App developed by IIT Bombay. The following persons are mandated to download the app. (a) Visited Bethany Hospital, Shillong on or after 24th March (b) Visited Bethany Hospital, Nongpoh on or after 30th March (c) Identified as primary contact or secondary contact of the corona positive patients.
“The database of about 5,300 individuals who fall in the above categories is with the health and family welfare department. These individuals will all receive an SMS or a link via WhatsApp on their mobile phones to download the app today,” the Chief Minister said.
He further said that the features of this app was to ensure that the users follow quarantine protocols. “It also notifies if there are positive cases around you and it helps authorities contain the spread of the virus. The government will also ensure that all families under compulsory home quarantine downloaded the app,” the Chief Minister stressed.
“The government will also ensure that all families under compulsory Home Quarantine have downloaded the app are given free home delivery of rations so that they don’t have to step out of their homes. We will start the process from April 22 and will reach all the households soon,” the Chief Minister added.
He also informed that by tonight Bethany Hospital Shillong will be completely evacuated. “All the doctors and staff at the hospital have been tested. The results of all are negative, but three are still awaited. All who tested negative have been shifted to various isolation facilities.”
“All the inpatients have also been tested and found negative. All have been moved to isolation facilities or discharged to go home. Fourteen doctors and staff are in Bethany Hospital to complete the lockdown of the hospital,” the Chief Minister informed.
The Chief Minister on his reply to queries on the MHA order on movement of standard migrants within the state, he said Government will work towards following this orders, but keeping the situation in mind, we need to be very careful and therefore we will follow very strict protocols.
Areas which have been affected and districts which have been affected there will be complete assessment on how we should move forward and only after assessment is made, the decision will be taken. Government will take decisions but districts which are not affected as of now even in those cases only after strict protocol and strict measures are taken only then will be go ahead.
On the quires on Online classes in rural areas, Chief Minister said when it comes to education, of course it is our concern. Online classes is one option because technology is available and we wanted to use that to facilitate to whatever extent that we could knowing that there are limitations in terms of connectivity in the rural areas and the infrastructure is not sufficient to to go ahead with it.
So therefore knowing that we are examining if there are other options in other ways to move ahead with this and the education department is working out modalities.
We are aware of the limitations but since the possibilities and the opportunity was there we felt that we should use it and try and you know give the benefit to as many students as possible through the technology platforms.
On the testing centre in ICAR Umiam, Chief Minister sait that Government is aware about the ICAR testing facilities and it was Meghalaya government that had taken this matter up almost about three weeks back with ICMR and during that time ICAR did not give the permission.
However, the permission has finally being given. The Government have already started moving once again with them but apart from that also government of Meghalaya is working on increasing facilities through other technologies also.
The Chief Minister is optimistic in about another 24 hours to 48 hours they will be having better information on that and I will be able to report. Mr Conrad said that it should be able to double if not triple the testing facilities in the next 48 hours or 72 hours.
