Dimapur, May 9 (MExN): To maintain the positive status of COVID-19 management in the North East, the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan advised North east states to ensure that the returning migrant labourers, students and those returning from abroad are screened and quarantined as per existing protocol.
They should be “screened and quarantined as per the guidelines and protocol laid down” by the by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and Ministry of External Affairs, he said, during a high level video conference meeting to review the status of COVID-19 in the region along with the measures being taken for its containment and management on May 9.
“While some states have worked in this direction, others need to focus on more effective surveillance, contact tracing, house to house survey and early diagnosis,” he added.
The meeting with minister and officials of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim was held in the in the presence of Ashwini Kumar Choubey, MoS (HFW), according to an official press release from the PIB.
The Minister also appreciated the dedication of all the States in combating COVID-19 in the country
“It is a huge relief and very encouraging to see green zones in most North Eastern States. As of date, only Assam and Tripura have active COVID-19 cases; the other States are all in the green zone,” he noted.
“Let us focus and work together by converting the orange zones to green zones and maintain the protective status across the States.”
To this end, Vardhan called for intensifying surveillance for Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI)/ Influenza Like Illness (ILI) in unaffected districts and districts which have not reported cases from last 14 days and more, through the IDSP network in collaboration with Medical College Hospitals.
He also urged the states to aggressively pursue the download of Aarogya Setu app to aid contact tracing and surveillance and for self assessment by people.
During the detailed interaction with the NE States, they highlighted various issues related to testing facilities, health infrastructure, surveillance, contact tracing etc., and also shared their best practices.
