Students from Mizoram, who are currently studying in coronavirus-hit China, are free from the deadly virus, an official said on Sunday.
State health deputy secretary Lalngura Tlau said the Mizoram government has contacted the students and confirmed that they have not come into contact with the virus till date as they stay far from the epicenter of the virus.
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However, he could not ascertain the actual number of Mizo students, who are currently staying in China.
“The government is in close contact with Mizo students in China. We have created a group in messaging apps-WhatsApp for speedy information. As of now, none of the students are infected with the deadly disease,” said Tlau.
On taking back the students from China, Tlau said the government has no such plan as the matter is under the union external ministry’s purview.
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In the meantime, one Mizo student from China has already arrived in India and to land at Lengpui Airport in Aizawl on Monday.
Tlau said that the student will be screened again at the airport though he has undergone screening at some international airports on his arrival in India.
He said that two persons, who have returned from China’s Guangdong province in early January, are being currently kept in house quarantine for 14 days.
The duo is kept in house quarantine as a precautionary measure though they did not show up any symptoms of coronavirus, he said.
According to Tlau, the government has set up a screening counter at Lengpui airport and constituted a state-level task force as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus in the state.
He said a medical team has been deployed at the airport to screen and take sample (throat swab) from passengers.
“The Centre directed us to do screening on passengers, who returned from China after January 14. We will do regular check on passengers who come from outside,” he said.
According to him, no report of infected patients has been received in the state till date.
The Mizoram government on Thursday set up a screening counter at Lengpui airport, about 32 km from Agartala.
The meeting of concerned departments, held under the leadership of health minister Dr. R. Lalthangliana on Thursday had also decided to set up screening points in inter-state and internal borders.
Tlau said the state task force team and chief medical officers in all the eleven districts are making massive efforts to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.
He said the Meghalaya government has created a 25 bedded quarantine and isolation ward at Zoram Medical College (ZMC), located about 16 km from here.
According to the latest report, the death toll due to coronavirus has crossed 300 with over 14,000 infected with the deadly disease across the globe.