SHILLONG, April 16: Principal Secretary (Health) Sampath Kumar on Friday said the COVID-19 cases detected in the state may be of the new strain as the infection rate is very high.
But it can be confirmed only after the test results of the samples come, he said.
“There are all the symptoms of the new strain and it is highly infectious. It took almost two months for the number of cases to reach 500 last year, but we are getting about 100 cases every day now,” he told The Shillong Times.
“It can be the new strain as it is infection and acting the way it is acting in other states,” he said, adding that the samples have been sent for testing outside Meghalaya for confirmation.
“We sent some samples a long time ago and are sending fresh samples now but the results have not been received yet. The labs must be overwhelmed with many samples coming in from across the country,” Kumar said.
He said the infection graph in the state “will definitely increase” with 100 cases being detected daily. “We are currently doing a lot of contact-tracing and getting people to quarantine,” he said.
The fatality rate has fortunately been inversely proportional to the high infection rate, the Principal Secretary said, advising caution.
On the measures put in place to counter the spread, he said: “We have again alerted and activated the entire machinery and are putting a lot of focus on vaccination. There was a lot of hesitancy earlier but we are making the people understand the importance of vaccination and people are responding.”
Kumar requested the citizens to follow the protocols strictly.
“Everyone has to wear a mask all the time. The cases are more and speaking to someone for five to ten minutes may lead to infection. It is not like before,” he said. He recommended vaccination for all eligible people and appealed to the people to follow COVID-appropriate protocols. “Everyone should think they can be asymptomatic unknowingly and create problems for others.