Principal Director, H&FW Nagaland, Dr Vizolie Z Suokhrie (left) addressing a press conference in Kohima on July 5. (DIPR Photo)
Morung Express News
Kohima | July 5
With the spike of COVID 19 cases in Nagaland in recent weeks, Dr Vizolie Z Suokhrie, Principal Director for the Department of Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) today asserted the need for strengthening of discipline among returnees in Quarantine Centres (QCs) in order to contain the spread of the virus.
Addressing a press conference at the Directorate here on July 5, Dr Soukhrie pointed out that the spike of positive cases has been witnessed among QCs which are not able to maintain discipline.
The department has been closely monitoring the situation, he maintained while observing that “Discipline inside the quarantine centres needs to be strengthened.”
Dr Suokhrie also expressed dismay that a birthday was even celebrated in one of the QCs.
Emphasizing on the gravity of the situation, he asserted that social distancing and proper discipline should be implemented at all times in order to avoid transmission.
“Your safety is your responsibility. Every individual needs to take safety precautions. Don't spread infection to others and also don't get infected from others,” he added.
Dr Suokhrie also said that the positive cases among Army personnel were a cause of concern.
“On our part, we have written to them for discipline and proper containment. We have given some information to the villages,” he said.
Calls for participation from VCs, CSOs
Stressing on the ‘dire need’ for discipline at QCs, the Department noted that maintaining discipline would require the participation of village councils and civil society organizations as the government cannot do it alone.
There is need for individual responsibility and civil society participation, Dr Suokhrie, adding, "Unless we do that, the longer we keep them in the QC, the more the danger.
“If the village council and civil society come hand in hand with the administration, police, medical department, I think we should be able to maintain good discipline where we are able to contain the transmission even within the quarantine residents. This is something we are stressing again and again," he added.
Working on strategies for Peren and Mon
The Department updated that it will be sending some officers from the Directorate to assist the team in Peren for about a week. Lab technicians and data entry operators would also be sent to clear the backlog.
It further informed that among the 96 released for Home Quarantine in Peren, 32 were tested positive.
"However, all of them were kept in community quarantine centres," said Dr Suokhrie.
The department is also in interaction with Mon district, where strategies are being worked out to meet the district’s requirements.
‘We will not misguide the people’
During the press conference, the Department also allayed rumours regarding NHAK and informed that all the primary contacts of the COVID 19 positive hospital’s staff have tested negative.
On the rumours about employees at the Secretariat testing positive, Dr Suokhrie said, “No such thing is happening.”
“Every day there is some new rumors. Please don't believe in those rumors. We will not misguide the people. We will keep on providing the facts without fear or hiding. We are very clear about the declared results,” he affirmed.
The Department also clarified that there is no shortage of medicines, PPEs or any other required equipments. Video conferences are being held almost every week and the status of each district is being updated, it said.
Further, Dr Suokhrie addressed complaints that volunteers at Bethel Kitchen were not contacted for contact tracing.
Stating that more tests can be conducted, he said “In case our surveillance teams have failed to contact them, we will be very happy if they can come forward.”
He admitted that with the huge number of people, there is a possibility that some might have been left out. “No system is 100 percent perfect,” he added.
State Nodal Officer for the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project, H&FW, Dr Nyanthung Kikon also clarified that the two positive cases did not come in close contact with any of the volunteers at Bethel Kitchen. However, he said that contact tracing has not stopped and the department has been tracing all contacts going back to the last 14 days.
More than 400 contacts (inclusive of primary and secondary contacts) have been traced, he informed.
Meanwhile, Dr Suokhrie said that the department is ‘over doing’ things at both the district and local levels to address the rise in positive cases. “But I think this is also where the panic button has been pressed faster leading to community panic,” he said while adding that existing SOPs will be revised.
“So far in our situation, we are happy that almost all our cases are asymptomatic. They are in a very energetic age group and recover even faster,” he added.
