SHILLONG, May 25: The state government plans to do away with the system of home isolation of COVID-19 patients by creating more COVID care centres but implementing it is surely going to be an uphill task.
According to official records, out of the 7,971 active cases in the state, 6,670 patients are in home isolation while 1,301 are in institutional isolation.
In the worst-affected East Khasi Hills district, 3,234 people are in home isolation and 1,025 are in institutional isolation. Similarly in Ri Bhoi district, majority of the 1,285 active cases are in home isolation while only 27 are in institutional isolation.
In West Garo Hills, 508 patients are in home isolation and only 62 are in institutional isolation. In West Jaintia Hills, 506 are in home isolation as against 56 who are in institutional isolation.
Earlier, many residents expressed concern when the government decided to allow the COVID patients to isolate themselves at home. Now that the hospitals in Shillong are being overwhelmed, the government is requesting communities and civil societies to assist it in setting up community corona care centres.
Some such centres have come up at locality level where the asymptomatic patients have been lodged. The local communities are taking care of their food. Presently, the total hospital bed occupancy in the state is 90 per cent.
The general observation is that the patients in home isolation are infecting others. Recently, the Congress claimed one of the main reasons behind the uncontrolled infection is the home isolation of the infected. In a letter to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, a group of four Congress MLAs — Ampareen Lyngdoh, George Lyngdoh, HM Shangpliang and Zenith Sangma — had pointed out that many of the infected persons did not have any space at home to stay in isolation.
