SHILLONG: The trend of spiralling cases of COVID infection in Meghalaya, mainly brought about by the armed forces, seems to be giving rise to a sense of bother among the community here.
Breaking the downward graph of active COVID cases of the past fortnight, at least seven positive cases were reported in the last five days. And all the infected persons are returnees from outside the state.
While the top brass of the army and BSF deny any hint of laxity in their establishments, the spike in cases appear to suggest that the arrangements are anything but impregnable.
The suspicion among the front-line COVID fighters and the local traditional durbars is that a good number of asymptomatic defence personnel have been trickling in from the COVID hotspots and an apparent lack of foolproof testing system has not been helping the cause.
Many of the constable ranked men of the BSF live in rented accommodations in Umpling which is also the FTR Headquarter of the BSF. Many had gone on annual leave during December and January last.
After the first COVID case was detected in Kerala in January and after the lockdown was imposed here on March 20, the BSF personnel were told to return alone and leave their families behind. But they did not follow those protocols. Many are still coming in batches.
On Wednesday, for instance, a BSF personnel came to NEIGRIHMS for some other complaints. He has a travel history having travelled to Guwahati and was still waiting for the RT-PCR report.
When told to go back to the BSF institutional quarantine centre at Umpling and wait for the test results the person refused to go and insisted that he be kept in the isolation ward at NEIGRIHMS.
Seven BSF personnel have tested COVID positive so far in Meghalaya.
A senior official of the BSF who spoke to this correspondent said that they were following strict quarantine protocols in the camp and that their swabs were being taken at the medical facilities inside the headquarters and sent for testing at NEIGRIHMS.
Rangbah Shnong of Umpling, SF Pyngrope said that while movement of armed forces personnel cannot be stopped, the fact that they come with their families poses a problem for the Shnong since a large number of personnel live outside the camp.
The list of BSF personnel and other residents who enter Meghalaya on a given day are submitted to the Block and the BDO then communicates that to the respective Shnong, Pyngrope stated.
“When the second checking was done at Ryndang Briew near Umiam View Point it was done very efficiently. Now, however, those coming to Shillong- Mawryngkneng-Jowai via Umroi can slip through this second checkpoint,” Pyngrope said.
He also added that the Shnong has to remain vigilant and the house owners in Umpling are themselves reporting about the arrival of people from outside the state.
While the protocols observed for the public are strictly observed at Byrnihat and to a great extent for those coming from Assam via Ratacherra in East Jaintia Hills, the movement of armed forces personnel is causing concern.
It may be reminded that the first case in Tripura was that of a BSF personnel. While in Arunachal Pradesh the first COVID positive case was that of an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel.
Army version
This correspondent also spoke to GOC 101 Area, Lt. Gen Tumul Verma to find out the protocols observed for defence personnel. Lt. Gen Verma said that officers and personnel who come in their private vehicles from any place outside Meghalaya are subjected to the same protocols as civilians and have to stop at Byrnihat for the rapid test and the RT-PCR swab test. They are then subjected to 17 days quarantine.
When asked why 17 days, he said, “We have observed that in some hotspots across India the COVID symptoms appeared on the 14th or 15th day so we are taking extra precautions. If a person enters Meghalaya on July 1, he will be out of quarantine on July 18. So far only one person from the army has tested COVID positive,” he added.
Regarding those armed forces personnel coming in convoys, Lt. Gen Verma said they have to report to the Military Hospital (MH) here for rapid antibody testing. Their swab samples are then taken and sent to NEIGRIHMS. Until the results come they are under strict quarantine inside the units. So far ICMR has not designated the MH for RT-PCR COVID testing.
With so many different protocols observed for different wings of the armed forces, there is a growing feeling that all stakeholders — Rangbah Shnong, Army, Air Force, BSF, Health officials — need to hold a convergence meeting to iron out the rough edges of the battle against COVID.
