DC Mon clarifies report on social media

Our Reporter
Dimapur, June 14 (EMN): Subsequent to the detection of six Covid-19 positive cases in Mon town on June 11, one of the returnees at Wangkhao Government College quarantine centre made a video and circulated on social media highlighting their grievances for not segregating those positive inmates even after confirmation of the test results.

The returnee contended that all the returnees would contract the virus if returnees were kept together along with the positive inmates. He alleged that the medical team failed to attend till 5 pm despite repeated calls made to the team in-charge.

In response to the video clip, Deputy Commissioner of Mon, Thavaseelan K, has clarified that he along with the superintendent of police, convenor of the empowered group of Mon district and medical team moved to the quarantine centre on receiving the complete list names of all who were tested negative.

He, however, stated that since it was raining heavily, they took the conscious decision to wait till the rain stopped so that no one got wet and develop cold.

“If the returnees developed cold fever, then it would make an asymptomatic positive case symptomatic and it would complicate his recovery process,” the DC stated. He also said that Mon district task force, empowered group and the Konyak civil society, church and elected members have instituted a 28-day institutional quarantine policy along with mandatory testing for everyone.

As the returnees were tested negative during their 11-day stay in Dimapur before being sent to Mon, the DC maintained that releasing the returnees without another test on the basis of completion of 14-day of institutional quarantine could trigger community spread in Mon.

He said they were kept under quarantine till they completed a total of 28 days as per the district policy because most people don't respect home quarantine protocols, while most homes in villages are just one large room or at most a couple of rooms. He added that several homes in the towns would also not allow effective home quarantine in a single room with a separate bathroom.

He, however, stated that since Mon district followed a different policy, they were able to contain all positive cases within quarantine centres in the containment zone. He was confident that they would be able to contain them within the same containment zone even if several more positive cases come up from the remaining Chennai returnees, whose results are still awaited.

He further stated that the positive cases have already been shifted out.