Nagaland will test all returnees, says Chief Secretary Temjen Toy

We have to learn how to live with Covid-19 by taking precautions

Our Correspondent
Kohima, May 25 (EMN): Samples of all citizens returning to Nagaland within the quarantine period will be mandatorily tested, said Nagaland Chief Secretary Temjen Toy.

‘Since the bio-safety level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK) is now functional, we have decided to go for pool testing,’ he said while interacting with media persons at his office chamber in Kohima on Monday.

‘Though all the testing cannot be completed at one go, everyone would be covered during the quarantine period,’ he said, adding that health officials are checking for symptomatic and asymptomatic people and are keeping them separately.

As for the quarantine centres in the state, he said there is adequate capacity, citing reports from the deputy commissioners.

Toy said that the capacity of quarantine facilities in Dimapur and Kohima was 3000 people each, as of now. 

[Also read: Nagaland registers first Covid-19 case]

‘The interesting thing is that of all those who are coming back, most of them happen to be from Mon, Peren, and Dimapur. Compared to other districts, the numbers are quite huge,’ he said. 

Besides facility quarantine centres, few hotels have been requisitioned by district administrations as paid quarantine centres. All returnees are being monitored, irrespective of staying in facility or paid quarantine centres, he added.

As for food at quarantine centres, he said that it has been outsourced to various agencies, while some churches are also offering nourishment. He said that ‘some rates are being paid per day’ to the agencies.

When asked if the government is willing to take help of the NGOs in case of manpower shortage, he responded: “We are all in this together.”

He added that there are people willing to help but could not because of various restrictions by colony members, prompting the government to issue directives to all deputy commissioners that such behaviours from the local authorities are not acceptable and action will be taken against them.

‘Covid-19 is here to stay, live with it’

In his message to the people of Nagaland, the chief secretary said that Covid-19 is here to stay and people have to learn to live with it.

“Covid-19 is here to stay. It’s not that we keep ourselves locked up and then wait for it to go. It has come, it’s here to stay, and we have to learn how to live with it by taking precautions,” said Toy.

He urged the people to take necessary precautionary measures ‘at the individual level, which is of utmost importance, as well as at the institutional level’.

“The new normal has come; we have to get used to the new normal. So even if someone is tested positive, so be it, what can we do about it? There should be no undue fear as long as one is taking precautions,” Toy said.  

He commended his team at the war room and those working on the field for their tireless efforts in spite of criticisms and pressure from various corners. “Team Nagaland is doing well,” he said.

“From where we were initially to where we are now, there has been a lot of learning. In the process, there has been a lot of fresh ways of thinking approach to problems, finding solutions,” he shared.