Hailakandi administration holds emergent meet to contain community transmission

July 19: With spike in number of COVID-19 positive cases in the community, the district administration has come up with new ways to deal with the grim situation to arrest further spread of the contagious disease in the community. Convening an emergent meeting with officials of the administration and officials concerned at the lawns of his office campus, Deputy Commissioner, Megh Nidhi Dahal stressed on channelising all energies towards preventing further spread of the disease in the community.

Harping on a focused effort on containing the disease in the community, Dahal formulated setting up a dedicated cell at IDSP Office for quick response to any positive case, contact tracing, and containing the area. A magistrate will be responsible for looking after a COVID Care Centre and making provisions for increasing the number of bed strength in COVID Care Centre in view of spurt in number of COVID-19 positive cases.

There has been detection of a number of coronavirus positive cases under the Rapid Antigen Test and Assam Targetted Surveillance Programme in the district. Many have been found positive without travel history forcing the administration to close haat and weekly markets, and salons and beauty parlours. It has also made compulsory for officials and employees to undergo swab test in the wake of detection of positive cases among employees.

Apart from closing all business establishments, except chemist shops, at 5 pm, the administration is also ruthlessly enforcing COVID-19 guidelines and night curfew from 7 am to 7 pm. Deputy Commissioner, Dahal asked all the officials concerned to gird up their loins and to work in tandem to ensure timely and coordinated action to contain further spread of the disease in the community.

District Programme Officer, District Disaster Management Authority, Rupjoy Maibangsa said the meeting called at a short notice by the Deputy Commissioner in view of the gravity of the situation, underscored the need to contain the community transmission of COVID-19 pandemic in the district. The meeting was attended, among others, by District Development Commissioner, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Health, Circle Officers, Sectoral Magistrates, BDOs, Branch Officer, DDMA, Joint Director, Health Services and District Surveillance Officer.

Hailakandi has a total of 710 COVID-19 positive cases with two persons succumbing to the infection as on Saturday. 11,617 persons from outside have arrived in the district so far. Presently, 312 persons are under facility quarantine centres and 5,992 under home quarantine.