SHILLONG: The renowned cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgeon, Naresh Trehan, who is also the managing director-cum-chief cardiac surgeon of Medanta Hospital, has advised Meghalaya to lock down the state for people coming from outside including Assam which has reported close to 30 positive COVID-19 cases.
Speaking to The Shillong Times on phone, Trehan said as Meghalaya does not have a positive case till date, the state should immediately seal its border with Assam as cross-border movement can spread the virus.
He also said educating people about COVID-19 is an important aspect and people should be intensely educated about the virus.
He added that people in the state must maintain social distancing even inside the house besides frequently using hand sanitisers even as he added that people must wear three-layered cloth masks made at home.
According to Trehan, the mask will help to prevent the spread of virus and it must be washed at the end of the day and there is no need for people to buy surgical masks as cloth mask is better.
“If we enforce the norms and if people honour the lockdown, the virus will not spread in Meghalaya but don’t allow people from other states to come to Meghalaya for the next 2-3 weeks,” he said.
Asking the state to continue testing and increase it further, he said the COVID-19 is a common enemy and people must participate in defeating the virus with responsibility and without being bravado even as he added that youths take COVID-19 lightly and 42 per cent of young people died due to the virus.
He also advised the state authorities to enforce the rules and anybody without masks should be punished.
When asked what strategy India can adopt to prevent the lives of people, he said the people who are positive should be completely isolated and the three weeks of lockdown have helped the country to prepare itself even as he added that all the states including Meghalaya should prepare some dedicated COVID-19 hospitals.
When asked about Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin, the two drugs which are considered as game changer by US President, Donald Trump, he said the two drugs should be used in patients who are symptomatic and it seems to have helped in preventing the disease from becoming severe.
He, however, maintained that the benefits are not confirmed but studies suggest that it should be used for patients who are infected, adding that health workers who are treating COVID-19 patients, family members of positive COVID-19 and people who have positive patients in their homes can use these two medicines.
He cautioned the people not to use these two medicines as it has some side effects.
