SHILLONG: The state government has put together a meticulous standard operating procedure (SOP) for handling the returnees.
Firstly, all the returnees, who have registered on the online portal and also those that could not register, will have to download the Corontine App of the state government as given in the notification. They are also advised to register in the Centre’s Aarogya Setu app.
All persons entering Meghalaya at the respective entry points will be scanned with an infra-red thermometer or thermal scanner to detect body temperature. Any person showing symptoms of COVID-19 (as determined by the screening personnel) will be tested using rapid diagnostic test kits at the health check-up kiosks. All other co-travellers (people who travelled in the same vehicle) will have to wait till the testing process is completed. If the person tests negative, he/she along with the co-travellers will proceed to their respective homes and be under mandatory home quarantine for 14 days along with their family members. The home quarantine will be followed up by the IDSP (Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme) unit which will keep the headman of the locality informed. (If a person tests positive, a confirmatory RT-PCR test will be have to be done. For that purpose the individual will be taken to the nearest designated sampling collection facility at Shillong, Tura or Jowai and kept under institutional quarantine/isolation until the PCR test results are available. If the person tests positive then the process outlined in the confirmed case management protocol of the Health department will be followed.
Asymptomatic individuals will not be tested but will have to undergo compulsory quarantine for 14 days. Names of all who have entered Meghalaya will be shared by the Health department with the respective deputy commissioners who would in turn share the information with the respective headmen of the locality where the returnee resides for ensuring community enforcement of home/family quarantine. The Community Covid Management Committees/teams will provide the necessary support and follow-up for all people under quarantine.
Geo-fencing will be used to monitor people undergoing quarantine and authorities will get a notification in case of breach of home quarantine.
The word ‘quarantine’ implies that the person cannot move out of the house and meet with other people. The returnees are a young constituency who could be asymptomatic carriers – meaning they may not show symptoms but could be carriers of the COVID-19 virus. According to government directives, those under home quarantine should compulsorily wear masks, practise hand hygiene by washing hands as often as possible or using sanitisers and maintain social distance. Meghalaya is heading towards becoming a zero COVID-19 positive state and maintaining this status is advantageous to all.
