TURA: Weeks after four returnees from South India tested positive on arrival in South West Garo Hills, the district now has no active positive case after the fourth and last COVID-19 positive patient was discharged from Ampati Corona Care Center in South West Garo Hills on June 19.
The patient was discharged after her tests came out negative. With no fresh COVID-19 infections in the district, South West Garo Hills is now coronavirus free.
Sharing her experiences, the recovered patient stated that on being tested positive, she initially felt sad but was however not scared during her stay at the Corona Care Center. She said that she had a good stay as good food and all basic needs were provided at the center.
Speaking to this scribe, a district official stated that the Corona Care Center warriors were not alarmed as they had anticipated positive cases in the district when returnees arrive from various parts of the country.
The warriors had already undergone months of training and felt fortunate that they had enough time to prepare themselves not just mentally but also physically. They expressed gratitude for the ample support from their families, friends, church elders, district administration, medical teams as well as from other line departments.
The most needed encouragement came from those who were posted in the centre as they had to support each other during the crucial time, they said.
An attending doctor stated that when informed that the returnees were tested positive, the medical team started basic treatment to improve and boost their immune system. The patients were cooperative and followed the instructions well. When the retest results came out negative, they were happy.
Another attending doctor recalled that prior to any COVID-19 positive cases in the district, preparations were on a few months back and that they were not expecting any positive cases. “On that particular day, I received a call from DSO SWGH that samples of 3 travelers had come back positive and asked me to get ready for contact tracing. I was asked to look after the corona care center and I happily agreed because I had been prepared for this,” the doctor said.
“Since all the positive cases were asymptomatic, I had a feeling nothing could go wrong. So I took up the task and had great help from the previous attending doctors. They had managed the Centre quite well and I just had to supervise the work since they were all asymptomatic,” the doctor added.
On June 5, the doctors and staff working at the centre quarantined themselves after handing over the centre to the relieving doctors. But before they left, they met the patients and wished them a speedy recovery.