SHILLONG, April 12: The state government is well prepared in case of a surge in Covid-19 cases in Meghalaya, a senior health official said.
He said five cases were reported on Wednesday but no one was hospitalised. “We are expecting more cases tomorrow,” he said.
The official said the existing Covid wards in the hospitals will need to be reactivated whenever required to handle the cases. Many additional isolation centres have also been created.
“We have a 100-bed facility near the Ganesh Das Hospital. A similar facility has been created in Tura,” he said, claiming the surveillance has been on track.
According to him, dealing with Covid-19 like any other disease is as important as maintaining records of hospitalisation and the number of severe cases.
“This could be a seasonal thing like four months ago when the respiratory cases decreased after a slight increase,” the official said.
But he underlined the importance of ensuring that people with co-morbidities are protected and the need for elderly people to take the precautionary dose.
“There are multiple vaccines in the market that can be taken after consulting the doctors concerned,” he said.
The official said that the state government will review the situation before issuing any advisory for the people to follow Covid-19 protocols.
He also said manpower would be ramped up by reappointing people on contract if the situation demands.
“We have trained manpower everywhere for emergencies and to handle severe cases. So, manpower will not be a major issue,” the health official said.
He, however, said not many people are coming forward for testing.
“But we do not test people if they are not symptomatic,” he said.
