SHILLONG: The NEIGRIHMS Director Dr DM Thappa on Saturday said altogether 74 tests for COVID-19 have been done in the testing centre of the institute and all of them were negative.
Ten days out of the 21-day all India lockdown passed off and Meghalaya and a few other states have managed to save itself from the onslaught of COVID-19 while the entire country is grappling with the virus.
This is despite the fact that the neighbouring Assam faced a surge in positive COVID-19 cases.
The Shillong city in the last 10 days had faced severe challenges be it for the supply of essential commodities or chalking out strategies to ensure that the state remains safe from the wrath of COVID-19.
As the lockdown was announced, the East Khasi Hills District Administration and the Health Department became fully active and the officials of the department are working on a war footing to make sure that the state is well prepared in case of a surge.
It turned out to be a major challenge for the government to ensure food supply to the people of the state and despite several hiccups, there is an improvement in the supply of essential commodities in the state.
The state government has also widely publicised the details on tackling COVID-19 and how it affects the people.
An official said that with the appeal for quarantine, more than 7700 people in the state are under home quarantine.
To keep people indoors, the district administration found curfew as an effective mechanism though the rule was violated by many.
In the last 10 days, the state government maintained that the biggest challenge is to make sure that people maintain social distancing as this particular norm is frequently violated by the people of the state.
The Civil Hospital, Shillong and Tura Civil Hospital have been declared as dedicated hospitals for focused treatment of persons infected with COVID-19 and while the former has 12 ICU beds with ventilators, the Tura Civil Hospital has 8 ICU beds and there are 50-60 beds in both the hospitals for the normal patients.
The state as of now has more than 400 isolation beds in different hospitals.
The government has already asked many private hospitals in the city to dedicate certain ICU beds and ventilators for COVID-19 patients. The government has also setup Corona Care Centres for mild and asymptomatic cases where a patient does not need to be hospitalized but is required to be isolated and quarantined. With Assam reporting more than 25 cases, Meghalaya government has also sealed its long border with the neighbouring state to stop any movement of people
While the small-time traders, labourers , poor people and daily wage earners have suffered the most due to the lock down, several NGOs and individuals are also working day and night to ensure that the have-nots do not go to sleep with empty stomach.
Earlier, the Deputy Chief Minister, Presone Tynsong had maintained that the remaining days of the lockdown are crucial for Meghalaya and if the state can cross the bridge, it would be of great help.
