Shillong March 6, 2020: After the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country with 13 confirmed cases, the Meghalaya government has taken precautionary steps and decided to have isolation wards in 13 hospitals across the state.
Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma told reporters on Friday that more precautionary steps are being taken by the state government while monitoring the situation.
He said that private hospitals have also been contacted to take necessary steps.
Urging people not to panic, the chief minister informed that 61 students from Meghalaya who returned from China and kept under observation for 28 days.
“After 28 days, 54 of them have come out without any symptoms. The remaining seven students are being monitored and the 28 days of observing them will also complete soon,†Sangma said.
Health Minister, A L Hek said that not a single case of COVID-19 has been suspected or confirmed in the state so far.
“We are taking all measures to prevent the spread of this virus. Masks would be also distributed as a preventive measure,†Hek said.
Meanwhile the chief minister informed that trade fairs and big events attracting people in large number would not go ahead.
He said that trade fairs would also not ahead based on advisory as there are materials from foreign countries in such fairs.
The confirmed COVID-19 cases in India have a travel history of Thailand and Malaysia.
There are now 31 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country after another suspect was tested positive on Friday. This includes 16 Italian nationals.
As per the latest advisory, all international passengers irrespective of nationality are mandated to undergo universal medical screening.
Adequate screening measures have been setup, and nine more airports have been added to the existing 21, bringing the total to 30 airports.
A national level training on Covid-19 was also organized by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and WHO on Friday. The training was attended by 280 health officials from all states, and hospitals of railways, defence, and paramilitary forces. It was also virtually attended by 1000 nodes across the country.
