SHILLONG: With COVID-19 having raised its ugly head, doctors at NEIGRIHMS have expressed concern that patients coming from designated red zones like Karimganj in Assam should be fully screened before they are allowed entry to the Institute.
This is to avoid infection through contact with health care providers.
Sources in NEIGRIHMS said on Monday that such patients are usually accompanied by four or five attendants which is unnecessary and which could be a potential for the spread of the pandemic.
While people coming from Guwahati are thoroughly screened at Byrnihat before they are allowed entry and all entrants are subjected to the RCT-PCR test for COVID-19 and kept under quarantine until the test results are out, the same scrutiny is not observed at the Ratacherra entry point in East Jaintia Hills, which is why unregulated number of attendants are allowed to accompany one patient bound for NEIGRIHMS.
Meghalaya has, so far, been able to contain the pandemic due to strict vigilance. Any let-up at this point could lead to rapid spread, doctors felt.
