Imphal, May 28: Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh stated on Thursday that mass testing for COVID-19 in all parts of the State will begin soon. He made the announcement while interacting with home isolation patients through video conferencing at the Chief Minister's Secretariat, Imphal. It was his third such interaction in less than a week.
The Chief Minister said that as early detection and early medication is the key to flatten the COVID curve, 50,000 RAT kits had been recently distributed to different districts and another 1 lakh kits had been ordered for procurement.
N. Biren Singh further stated that house to house testing is being actively considered in vulnerable areas and containment zones. He said that around 100 more ICU beds would be added to the current figure within a week.
The Chief Minister stated that since most of the health infrastructures used in the current fight against COVID are newly developed, the government's efforts may not be satisfactory sometimes. However, all possible efforts are being invested by the government to save every single life and serve the people to their satisfaction, he added. In the meantime, people also need to extend full cooperation to the government's efforts and to be more aware about the disease, he observed.
Responding promptly to a complaint raised by a patient lodged in a Community Home Isolation Centre located in Ukhrul, pulse oximeter was immediately provided by directly talking to the CMO concerned over the phone. Attending to another call from a patient from Tamenglong, N. Biren Singh assured him that he would ask the officials concerned to ensure regular power supply in the district.