Tripura registers 3 more COVID-19 cases, state tally surges to 194

Three more persons, who have returned from Delhi by the Rajdhani Express, have been tested positive for COVID-19 in Tripura on May 24^th, 2020. With this, the number of confirmed cases has gone up to 194 with 27 active cases.

Informing this, the Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who also holds the Health portfolio, tweeted:

A total of 991 samples were tested for the lethal coronavirus, of which reports of these three came positive.

Also read: Tripura: ‘Inadequate measures’ to contain COVID-19 outbreak irks people

Meanwhile, earlier in the evening, education minister Ratan Lal Nath told reporters that 24 active COVID-19 positive patients were undergoing treatment at the Sahid Bhagat Singh Youth hostel and altogether 12 patients including two from GBP hospital were discharged following the health protocols.

He also said, “As of now there are altogether 24,513 people are under surveillance among which 16,131 have completed the stipulated period of 14 days. There 292 people are in facility quarantine and the figure of home quarantine stands at 8,090”.

He had also informed that 21,588 samples were tested and 19,728 samples had tested negative whereas, 1,451 samples were under the process of testing by the time he was briefing the media. To a query, he said, altogether 732 contacts of 16 positive cases found yesterday have been traced.   

Nath also asserted that the 1:5 ration of random testing was state’s own protocol developed as per the recommendation of central government. The clarification came in the wake of widespread speculation and repercussions evoked following the decision of conducting random testing of stranded persons coming from outside Tripura.

Also read: Tripura: Autonomous district council stalemate amid covid19 uncertainty

“We cannot afford to take chances. In the interest of the people of the state we have taken the initiative of testing one among five persons arriving in the state though railway stations, bus stations (Churaibari) or through flight (beginning from May 28). Although, the central government has clearly stated in its guidelines that asymptomatic persons can be left out of the purview of testing after going through thermal screening only”, Nath told reporters this evening.

It is also worthy to be mentioned here that after 16 returnees from Maharastra tested positive to the Covid 19 including 6 people from the Agartala city, massive resentment had been noticed brewing among the locals. Some questions had been also raised from the part of opposition parties and  in social media the decision of bringing back stranded people courted huge criticism. Demands of 100 percent testing had been also placed from different corridors triggering speculations among the people.

Clarifying all the issues, Nath said, as per the new guidelines the states have been given liberty to formulate own protocols to handle the situation in the best suited way and the random testing system is still in progress because the state government is very much serious about the people of the state.

Meanwhile, speaking on the flight resumption issue, Nath said, “A crucial meeting has been held in the secretariat in presence of AAI officials, security chiefs of CISF, Tripura police, authorities of Indigo airlines and higher officials of health department. The meeting has been presided over by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb where deputy Chief Minister and I myself also attended. Since the domestic flight services are resuming from May 25 next, we have discussed and chalked out a standard operating procedure to let the services resume from the said date”.

Also read: Bru-resettlement in Tripura creates furore among locals

According to the new SOP, Nath said, thermal screening, random testing and other precautionary measures which are taken in case of railways will be put on place in this case also. In addition, he said, people who will have travel history to foreign countries in last 20 days will be sent to facility quarantine straight away.

In case of people who will return within 72 hours, he said, they will be asked to contact the concerned authorities if they develop any symptom in the stretch of their stay in the state and there will be proper surveillance team to track their locations and other specifics. And, in order to resolve the accommodation related problems of the people coming from outside states, all the hotels will be opened from tomorrow, Nath told reporters.

Meanwhile, some important guidelines also included, people willing to go Bangladesh will be transported to Akhaura Check Pots through a special vehicle, all asymptomatic passengers will have to be subjected sample test if they are wiling stay here for more than 72 hours, sample collection centre at old cargo building of AAI etc.   

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