The meeting of the District Covid Committee of Tura town was held at District Auditorium yesterday to discuss issues relating to Covid management where Member of Parliament, Agatha Sangma also attended the meeting.
Speaking during the meeting, Agatha Sangma said that the festival season have started with the celebration of Durga Puja, Diwali, etc which will be continued till January along with wedding season and therefore, it is difficult for us to stay away and isolate from these festivity and for this reason we need to be extra careful and follow necessary precautions such as wearing of mask, etc for our own safety and others as well, she added.
Further, Sangma said that another area of concern is for school children since schools would be re-opening very soon and children are difficult to control with matters regarding to Covid-19 protocols and directed the heads of all institutions to follow the directives as notified by the government.
Considering that people seem to be fed up with the situation, she said that it is necessary for the public representatives and officials to set an example by following these protocols because the disease may seem normal like common flu, but it has the huge potential to affect the lives of people, she added.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner, West Garo Hills Ram Singh informed that in view of the increase of Covid cases during the first and second week of November in the district, there is a need to hold the meeting with the officials and members of Local Development Committees in order to discuss matters relating to Covid management.
He then informed that immediate quarantine measures were taken by declaring those areas comprising of Cherangre, Dobasipara and Chitoktak as containment zones for 14 days as per the instruction of the Central government where few more cases have been detected during contact tracing.
Mentioning that not everyone who has cough and fever are tested positive and therefore, advised everyone who is having symptoms with breathing issues to come forward immediately and avail medical treatment so that one’s precious life can be saved, he said.
Stating that comorbid patients are more vulnerable to the disease, Singh advised the people to take care of their food habits and lifestyle by avoiding soda and consume less salt, sugar and also avoid smoking, drinking during this pandemic. Moreover, he urged everyone to wear a mask and follow all Covid protocols strictly all the time and also informed that unnecessary gatherings are to be avoided as much as possible.
During the meeting, West Garo Hills Superintendent of Police Dr. M G R Kumar informed that till date an amount of Rs. 6 lakhs has been realised for compounding in connection with Covid-19 violations in the district which signifies that people are not following the rules properly.
Moreover, sharing his observations as policemen, he said that people wear masks only when they see them and the same is the case with wearing helmets and therefore, he urged the people to follow all precautionary measures to protect themselves and others as well.
Further, Dr. Ivonne M Sangma, District Maternal and Child Health Officer, Tura presented a detailed status report of Covid patients in the district from the month of May, 2020 till date in which she pointed out that earlier many test were conducted but less positive cases were detected, but at present the positive cases are increasing at an alarming rate and informed that in the month of November, the positivity rate have increase to 6.48 per cent.
Mentioning that the age group of 21 to 40 are being the most affected group from the population, she said that these groups belongs to the active mobile users which are being infected and somehow carrying on the disease to other elderly population who are at high risk and for this reason the Covid protocols like maintaining social distancing, wearing mask, etc and Behavioural Change Management is necessary, she added.
