SGH resident refuses test, dies of COVID

TURA, May 24: Reluctance to seek timely medical treatment and undergo tests for the highly infectious COVID-19 disease is taking a toll on human lives in Garo Hills.
On Monday, a 40-year-old villager, who was residing in a containment zone in South Garo Hills, died of the disease after having refused to undergo testing.
According to medics, the village of Mengkulgittim located in Rongsa Awe had been turned into a containment zone, last week, after several COVID cases were detected. The village falls under the case of Nangalbibra government primary health centre.
Surveillance teams had reportedly visited the village last week to conduct tests but several villagers, including the now deceased man, refused to get tested despite persuasion by the medical team.
He reportedly developed symptoms soon after but failed to seek medical treatment leading to his death on Monday morning.
Since the village was a designated containment zone medical teams with the help of magistrate and police arrived and a COVID test conducted on the corpse turned out to be positive.
Doctors have narrated how in many villages, particularly remote areas, villagers still refuse to believe the existence of the disease and reluctance to take either the COVID test or even the vaccine.
Doctors treating COVID patients in Garo Hills have been urging people who develop symptoms to come forward and seek medical treatment early to prevent complications from taking over the body. They are also appealing to people who come across suspected cases to isolate at home and undergo testing to avoid transmitting the virus to others.