GUWAHATI: The Assam Health Department has prepared standard operating procedures (SOP) for smooth return of stranded passengers to the state by trains.
According to the SOP, which comes into effect from Thursday, detailed information of passengers will be collected by Assam Police in association with 104 services of National Health Mission (NHM) and sent to the districts to arrange transport and medical facilities.
State Health Minister Himant Biswa Sarma, on Thursday, said that in accordance with the SOP, those passengers who show symptoms on arrival would be put on isolated institutional quarantine.
“District administration will hire all hotels (in headquarters) with single toilet facility. However, people over 65 years of age, pregnant women, children under the age of 10 and differently-abled people can go home subject to an undertaking by the head of the family that the persons would stay home for 14 days and the entire house would remain a containment zone for the period,” Sarma said.
The minister, however, said that 50 per cent of the districts might not be able to provide single toilet facilities.
Sarma further said that the result of swab tests would be sent to the mobile phones of the persons concerned and depending on the outcome the deputy commissioners would exercise their discretion.
“Samples from hotbeds would get precedence in regard to testing and the doctors will be the final authority in this regard,” he said.
The minister also said that from now on, paid quarantine would be closed in the city except for those who want to stay in five-star hotels.
Sarma requested people to refrain from making complaints about food quality as the authorities were dedicated towards containing a pandemic and that such posts on social media could demoralise people. “If you have a different level of expectation, you might as well return 15 days later so that we can address your concerns,” he added.
Positive cases post May 4
The minister said that since the inter-state travel restrictions will be lifted on May 4, as many as 4,690 have returned to Assam via road from outside North East and 6,412 from other states of the North East barring Sikkim.
“However, it is heartening that we have had only 18 positive cases out of over 11,000 returnees. Those from the region have been sent to their respective districts as they had come from green zones. Of those returnees from outside the region, 2,708 are currently in institutional quarantine,” Sarma said.
The minister cautioned that the challenging phase would be in the next few hours when the first Krishak Shramik Express enters the region from Chennai en route to Mizoram with 625 scheduled to de-board in Assam. This is apart from the 219 passengers scheduled to arrive in the state from Delhi,” he said.
COVID Hospital
The health minister further informed that the fully commissioned COVID Hospital at Guwahati Medical College Hospital will be operation in the next 10 days.
“The COVID hospital is being readied and equipped with Ultra-Violet rays to prevent contamination in ICUs, a technology imported by the state PWD department from Canada,” Sarma said.
He further stated that barring three positive cases in GMCH and Regional Dental College, almost all the 2,000 doctors and medical staff have tested negative for the virus with just 110 results awaited. “So, we have decided that from Friday, all doctors at GMCH will resume duty,” he added.
