Arunachal Pradesh health minister Alo Libang on Monday said the swab samples of 31 persons, out of 62, who had travelled with the COVID19 positive student from Delhi to the state, tested negative.
“The results of the remaining samples are awaited,” said Libang.
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All the individuals, who travelled with the COVID19 positive student, are presently under strict quarantine in their respective districts, added Libang.
“The district administrations concerned have been asked to monitor them strictly,” he said.
Arunachal reported a fresh case on Sunday after a 30-year-old student, who returned from Delhi, tested positive for the virus.
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The student was kept in institutional quarantine and his swab sample, taken on May 22 for a test, was found positive on Sunday.
“The patient is asymptomatic and is being taken care of by the health team. He is being shifted from the quarantine facility to the Covid19 Care Centre in Naharlagun,” Libang said.
The minister, who was addressing media persons here on Monday, said that the number of sample collection has increased post Lockdown 4.0 in Arunachal, as a result of which the load in laboratories has increased.
This has resulted in backlogs for testing and sharing results, he said.
Libang said the laboratories have been requested to expedite the process and we hope that the gaps will be reduced in the coming week.
He appealed all to cooperate with the government in this regard.
The minister said a total of 5,428 samples have been collected in the state so far, out of which 4,557 have tested negative and the results of 868 samples are awaited.
Health secretary P Pratibhan said a special surveillance team has been constituted to monitor all the returnees who have been kept in home quarantines.
“The surveillance team is ensuring that all the returnees are being monitored. Health officials are also collecting every single detail of the returnees in from all the 11 entry points of the state,” he said while requesting the people not to panic.
Pratibhan further said the returnees are being kept in institutional quarantine for maximum one week and the swab samples are collected within 3 days and sent for tests accordingly following the ICMR guidelines.
A person is sent for strict home quarantine if his or her swab sample results are found to be negative, he added.
COVID19 state nodal officer Dr Lobsang Jampa requested the people, especially the returnees from other states, to cooperate with the administration and health department for safety of all others.
“We understand that the many may panic at this time. But I request the returnees and everyone else to stay calm and support the health department in its efforts,” he added.
Sunday reported the second COVID19 positive case in the state after a 31-year-old man was discharged from hospital in April post-recovery.
The man from Medo village had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin in March after which he was tested positive for COVID19 infection on April 1.