MANGALDAI, July 5 - Darrang Deputy Commissioner Dilip Kumar Borah has kept himself in home quarantine since Saturday after his PA came in close contact with a retired bank staff who tested positive on the previous day.
On Saturday, swab samples of the DC were collected and till results of the test comes, he would be in home quarantine. Besides the DC, more than 30 employees including two ADCs, security personnel, drivers and a journalist � all who came in contact either with the DC or his PA � are under home quarantine following collection of swab samples.
�We are following the new guidelines and kept ourselves under quarantine till the swab samples results come. Recently, a fresh mechanism for early receipt of test report especially for frontline warriors have been brought into action and I am hopeful that test results of such persons will be received within two days of despatch,� DC Borah told this newspaper on Sunday.
Each passing day, the COVID scenario is turning critical. After several persons of Mangaldai including a businessman, a bank staff, pharmacist and few health staff tested positive, for the first time, a senior surgeon of Mangaldai Civil Hospital has also tested positive.
The doctor who was reportedly discharging his duties in the emergency ward of the hospital till the time of receipt of the swab test result was immediately shifted to the isolation ward. His rental residential campus and a surrounding of 100 metre area along the hospital at ward no.1 of Mangaldai town has been declared as containment zone, said ADC Navajyoti Oja, in charge of the district disaster management department. The residence of the doctor where he carried out private practice along with the bylane has been turned into a containment zone, Oja said.
Till filing of this report, the health department has not made any public statement regarding identifying of the contact persons of the doctor including his colleagues, health staff and patients. Till Saturday, the overall tally in the district had gone up to 273. However, only 107 are undergoing treatment.
DIPHU: Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) Executive Member Khonsing Rongpi, who is in charge of the Health & Family Planning Department, has tested COVID-19 positive. Rongpi, the MAC from Howraghat constituency, was admitted at Diphu Medical College Hospital after he suffered from cough and cold. Later, he tested COVID-19 positive.
This is the first case of COVID-19 among political leaders in the hill district. According to official reports, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the district is 174, while there are 64 active cases.
BARPETA: At least 19 persons, including nine army personnel based at Ganakkuchi, tested COVID-19 positive in Barpeta district. With this, the total number of patients went up to 395. The other patients include health workers, police and court employees.
In spite of the authorities� claims that there is no community transmission in the district, the nature of transmission indicates that it is not limited to persons travelling outside the state or coming into contact with any outsiders visiting the district.
As per information, 47 persons were found positive on July 3, the highest in a single day. Out of them, 35 were outside quarantine camps, and most of them have no travel history, and the source of infection has not been identified.
The diagnosed persons include 12 employees of the police department. While four are from Barpetaroad PS, an equal number are from the Office of the SDPO Bajali and Sarupeta police outpost. Three employees of Barnagar Revenue Circle Office and one employee of Barpeta Development Block also figure in the list. Four employees of three petrol pumps and an employee of a motel are also in the list.
It has been learnt that diagnosed patients are not picked up for hospitalisation immediately as expected. Sometimes, it takes several hours to pick up the patients. As it takes 3-4 days from the day of swab collection till the test report, the suspected patient mixes up with others. Delay in hospitalisation further increases the risk. When contacted, the nodal officer for COVID-19 attributed the reason behind the delay to lack of vehicles and the prevailing flood situation.
DERGAON: A doctor tested positive on Saturday, which has led to panic among the people as after giving his swab sample, the doctor was still on duty at a government hospital.
Dr Rupam Gogoi, a one-year term doctor posted at Dergaon Community Health Centre, gave his swab sample a week ago but ignored the COVID-19 protocol and was on duty in the night shift on Friday, while he received his positive report on Saturday morning. After this incident, 50 swab samples of the staff and patients of the CHC for contact tracing were taken.
Confirming his duty, Dergaon CHC deputy superintendent Dr Chiranjib Lal Gogoi said he took the matter lightly as he was asymptomatic. Golaghat Covid hospital in-charge Dr Rupam Dowerah said a doctor should know the protocol of self-isolation after giving swab samples.
Reacting to the issue, Golaghat Deputy Commissioner Bibhash Chandra Modi expressed serious concern and termed it as total negligence by the doctor. �Being a doctor, he must possess this knowledge. Rather, he frequently visited Golaghat Nursing Home. As he is now a patient, so after recovery, strict disciplinary action will be taken,� the DC said.
Similarly, after a driver of a vehicle engaged in four-lane construction tested positive, 40 swab samples of the staff of Dergaon Circle Office.
After 20 positive cases were detected in and around the District Elementary Education Office, Deputy Inspector Office, Golaghat Court adjacent to the DC�s Office, the areas have been closed for official purposes.
District Magistrate Bibhash Chandra Modi suspended official activities in the DC�s Office (except Nazarat branch), Golaghat and Dergaon circle offices, Golaghat Municipal Board, Golaghat Bar Association and Office of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (except for urgent matters) until further orders.