Dimapur administration reiterates social distancing rule

Our Reporter
Dimapur, April 27 (EMN): After the Nagaland government allowed certain shops to open, citizens of Dimapur swarmed the shops in the town centre on Monday, creating traffic snarl in the process.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror, the deputy commissioner (DC) of Dimapur Anoop Khinchi, said that the shops and businesses allowed to open are ‘essentials’, and will continue to open as long as the public follows social distancing guidelines.

In its advisory, the government had stated that all proprietors must get clearance from the district administration, must ensure staff and customers maintain social distancing (6 feet/2 metre) while also ensuring that all wear face masks apart from using hand sanitisers and disinfecting door handles and surfaces regularly.

“If the proprietors ensure the guidelines and especially follow social distancing rules between staff and customers, it should be fine,” said Khinchi and added that if the guidelines were not followed action would be taken.

Khinchi further maintained that the heavy traffic was also due to certain roads being closed down and the public taking all the main roads towards town.

When asked about a tentative time when Zion Hospital and Research Centre will be accessible to the public again, the DC said that only the first floor of the hospital is sealed for now, and not the entire hospital.

A source from Zion Hospital informed this newspaper that there are three patients in the hospital at the moment and they have been shifted to the second floor.

The source informed that the doctors and staff that were kept under quarantine in the hospital left on Sunday and a fresh batch of staff have come on Monday.

“Right now, only the doctors who are treating the three patients are on duty; the ones who went home from the quarantine centre have to still be under quarantine in their homes for another 14 days,” informed the source.  Further, the source informed that the board of the hospital has not decided yet when to start functioning on a full time basis.

“We will go according to the guidelines of the government,” said the source.

It was also informed that the cleaning and fumigation process of the hospital would start “batch by batch” from Tuesday.