SHILLONG, July 6: Aggressive testing has resulted in Meghalaya still registering a lot of Covid-19 cases, Principal Secretary of Health department, Sampath Kumar said on Tuesday.
“We do not want to lower our guard. The danger is that another wave will come if we allow people, who are asymptomatic, to move around. So, we need to continue with testing as far as possible,” Kumar said.
He said many states had made the mistake of lowering their guard, thinking the pandemic was over. “Suddenly, we saw there is a mutated variant,” Kumar said.
He claimed that Meghalaya has been able to manage the situation well through a calibrated approach which included containment measures and testing of all high risk contacts.
“If you stop testing, you will not get any case. Cases were all over between the first wave and the second wave. This was evident when the mutated virus emerged, creating havoc. We had witnessed a surge in the cases between April and May…
“We are doing the testing on a priority basis to isolate the virus. Testing helps create a caution among people that the virus is around and they need to be careful. This has been very helpful,” Kumar said.
He said all efforts are being made by the districts to ramp up testing but due to hesitancy, the exercise has not yet gathered pace.
“As per the pandemic rules, if you are identified as a high risk contact, then you need to be tested. You cannot refuse testing,” he said.
He said doctors treating Covid patients have told the Health department that they have been able to take control of the situation in a much better manner now as people are coming to hospitals early for treatment.
According to him, West Khasi Hills still has a problem while the people in Ri-Bhoi are coming early for treatment and getting recovered.
“This is good news since people have now understood that Covid is treatable,” he said.
“The death rate has to come down even if new cases are on the higher side. We are trying to do the death audits to know why people are dying. As per indications, a major reason is that people go to hospitals for treatment very late,” Kumar said.
He said Nazareth Hospital, Bethany Hospital and Supercare Hospital have got ICUs to cater to pediatric Covid cases. Earlier, he had stated that the Health department is setting up seven pediatric ICUs in all the three regions of the state.
Vaccine hesitancy a concern: Shylla
Social Welfare Minister Kyrmen Shylla has expressed concern over the vaccine hesitancy even as the state continues to be in the grip of the pandemic.
The government is requesting the people to take the vaccine for their protection, he told media persons on Tuesday.
“We ask people to take vaccines because we want them to live happily,” Shylla said, adding that the people should come forward as the vaccines are free.
He rued the tendency of some people to accuse the government of forcing the vaccination on them. “We would like them to suggest how to protect the people from COVID-19 otherwise,” he said.
Stating that many health workers have sacrificed their lives while protecting people during the pandemic, he said the Social Welfare and all line departments have been working in tandem to create awareness about the importance of the vaccines.
He also said that in some places in East Jaintia Hills district, people are just not willing to take the vaccine and attempts are on all to allay their fears.
