Spike in Covid-19 cases: New detections are ‘primary contacts’

Our Correspondent
Kohima, June 23 (EMN): On June 22, Nagaland witnessed the highest single-day spike with 69 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, followed by 50 confirmed cases on Tuesday.

The sudden spike might have happened due to various reasons. A government doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “they (recent confirmed cases) have been the high-risk or primary contacts of the positive cases”.

In addition there is “no quarantine discipline” and “no social distancing” at the quarantine centres. ‘Basically, these are the main reasons,’ the doctor said.

Earlier, this newspaper had reported on returnees breaking quarantine; they have been reportedly sneaking out of windows and visiting each other’s room.

On June 6, the state government has issued new rules and regulations to ensure safety of the people at the facility quarantine centres. Accordingly, some of those defying quarantine rules were being transferred to detention centre.

State Nodal Officer for IDSP, Dr. Nyanthung Kikon said that some of the returnees might have contracted the disease while travelling and some of them must have been infected inside the quarantine centres.

‘However, one cannot say that they were tested positive only in the quarantine centres,’ Kikon said.

When asked if the increase in confirmed cases was due to increase in testing capacities, he said that they have not really done a study on that. “But it can depend on various factors,” said Kikon.