In a first in Nagaland, Mon sets up kiosk to collect COVID-19 samples

The walk-in sample kiosk (WISK) set up by District Administration at District Hospital Mon. (Morung Photo by Special Arrangement)

Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 21

The Mon District Administration, in a novel initiative, has set up a walk-in sample kiosk (WISK) at District Hospital Mon to collect samples from those with COVID-19 symptoms on April 20. The project is part of the ‘Mon against COVID-19’ initiative of the District Administration and the first of its kind in the state.

The WISK, which looks like a glass cabin, is made in such a way that the environment inside it where the medical staff stands is always sterile. The medical staff standing inside the cabin can use the gloves affixed on the kiosk to collect throat swab samples from people sitting outside the chamber.

According to Mon Deputy Commissioner Thavaseelan K, there were two main reasons the District Administration decided to install a WISK. “Firstly, because the protection of our health workers- doctors and nurses and other frontline medical personnel is paramount for us,” he said adding that this method is supposedly the best practice being followed around the world.

“When we try to take a sample from the throat, the likelihood of a patient coughing is very high and without a barrier between the patient and the health worker who is taking the sample stands at a high risk of getting infected, “ he said. “So, with the kiosk acting as a physical barrier between the patient and the healthcare worker, the risk is minimized.”

The second reason, Thavaseelan said, was to rationalize the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Stating that PPEs have become a precious commodity across the country, he said that the guidelines on the usage of PPE mandate that it can only be used for one patient. As such, he reasoned that the kiosk will reduce the number of PPE being used as the doctor collecting the sample from inside does not require a complete PPE set.

Apart from the kiosk will be disinfected with Sodium Hypochlorite spray after each collection, each time after the samples are collected, the outer portion of the gloves and the chair on which the patient sat will also be disinfected, he added.

Dr Ponwang Konyak, Pathologist at DH Mon, stated that besides minimizing the chances of infection and reducing the use of PPE sets, the kiosk also provides a sense of security to health workers collecting the samples.