Dimapur, June 4 (EMN): With the revised standard operating procedure (SOP) placing the onus of receiving, screening and distribution of returnees on the team handling Covid-19 issue in Dimapur, top officials in the district held an emergency co-ordination meeting on Thursday to plan new tactics.
According to a DIPR report, the meeting was convened under the chairmanship of Y Kikheto Sema, the bureaucrat in charge of Covid-19 activities in Dimapur.
W Honje Konyak, secretary for Food and Civil Supplies; Anoop Khinchi, Deputy Commissioner of Dimapur; and Rothihu Tetseo, Commissioner of Police Dimapur, and other officials attended the meeting.
Sema pointed out that earlier Dimapur was taking care of returnees from Dimapur, Mon and Peren districts only.
However, the new SOP dictates that all returnees should be ‘received, screened and dispatched by team Dimapur to all 10 districts across the state’.
Consequently, the district officials decided that upon arrival of the special train from Bengaluru, carrying 1501 returnees on Friday, 757 returnees of Dimapur district (50.43 %) will be sent to the Agri Expo site for registration, screening and triaging by medical team, and thereafter, process for hosting the returnees at designated quarantine centres.
“The remaining returnees from the 10 districts totalling 744 persons (49.57%) shall be screened by the medical team at railway station district-wise as per the order of districts – Tuensang, Mon, Longleng, Kiphire, Zunheboto, Phek, Mokokchung, Wokha, Peren and Kohima.
“After screening by medical team, all returnees shall be provided with meal and then proceed for transfer to respective districts,” they resolved.
Also, the officials decided to convert the quarantine centre at Agri Expo site into a transit camp to accommodate those returnees bound for other districts, who may arrive through various routes (except special trains).
“The accommodation committee shall vacate the quarantine centre at Agri Expo and relocate the residents to a suitable quarantine centre. This is urgently required as team Dimapur is currently managing about 50 quarantine centres excluding paid hotels spread across the district from Medziphema to Ruzaphema to Ganeshnagar to Bade to Nihokhu to Indisen village, apart from Dimapur city areas,” read the report.
The officials further instructed the disinfecting team to promptly sanitise all quarantine centres regularly without delay so that new returnees can be immediately accommodated.
“The deputy commissioner, Dimapur and commissioner of police, Dimapur shall issue prohibitory order for closure of shops and traffic for arrival of the special train to facilitate smooth and timely movement of the returnees to their respective districts.
“The reception, accommodation, transport and fooding (sic) committee shall prepare and keep all necessary arrangements on standby to service the returnees, including other districts, in case of any exigency. The district nodal officers shall co-ordinate with team Dimapur, and on completion of all necessary formalities, escort the returnees to their respective districts, and quarantine centres,” they resolved.
