TURA: Barely a week since Garo Hills registered its first case of COVID-19 infection detected in a returnee from Tamil Nadu, another woman who accompanied her has also been tested positive on Monday, raising the total number of coronavirus infections to two in the Garo Hills region.
“Another person who had travelled from Chennai along with the 14th case has turned out to be COVID-19 positive. The person was in isolation since the day of arrival. The person is presently in Resubelpara under institutional isolation and medical observation,” announced Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma through his official twitter handle after test results came out on Monday.
The 29-year-old woman was part of the second batch of returnees from South India by train to the state and had accompanied the 33-year-old woman who became the first COVID-19 patient in the Garo Hills.
“Both were working in Erode district of Tamil Nadu and had come together. Initially she had tested negative for the virus but as mandatory she was under quarantine in an institution since her arrival because her companion had tested positive. A second test conducted this week showed she had also become infected,” revealed deputy commissioner SC Sadhu while speaking to The Shillong Times on Monday afternoon.
The second batch of returnees to the state numbered less than a hundred individuals and contact tracing was undertaken. The state government has made it mandatory for every arrival into the state to be tested with the WHO-ICMR recognised RT-PCR test for COVID-19.
“So far, we have tested over 6000 people who entered the state from different parts of the country. The second batch of returnees from Tamil Nadu comprised of 55 people, out of which 30 were from Garo Hills. Everyone had to undergo the RT-PCR test before being sent for home quarantine,” clarified Health Commissioner and Secretary P Sampath Kumar while speaking to this scribe.
He stated that both the COVID-19 patients from Garo Hills were doing well under institutional quarantine with doctors monitoring their situation.
The first COVID-19 patient from Garo Hills arrived with the second batch of returnees on May 18 and was placed under institutional quarantine after her test results indicated positive for the virus, a day after. “The second woman who had accompanied the first patient was kept back in institutional quarantine for another test despite being negative because her companion had become positive. Our state is using testing as a strategy to manage the situation more effectively and it is giving results. We now have the capacity to conduct 2000 pool tests,” claims Kumar.
He also clarified that those who are asymptomatic and don’t display any symptoms of the disease need not require hospitalisation but proper quarantine at home.
“Proper isolation at home, proper diet and use of face masks and frequent hand washing is the best strategy. Out of the 13 positive cases in Shillong eight of them recovered while being on home quarantine,” the official announced.
