With the state government deciding to test every Arunachalee returning to the state, there is huge pressure on the Covid-19 RT-PCR lab at Tomo Riba Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (TRIHMS), which is the lone ICMR approved testing facility. Some of the samples are being sent to Dibrugarh and Tezpur for tests. However, with thousands of people expected to return in the next one month, pressure is mounting on the TRIHMS Covid-19 RT-PCR lab. At present the lab is overburdened. The government has announced to set up another lab, in Pasighat, to cater to the needs of the people of eastern Arunachal.
The work to set up this lab should be fast-tracked. The state government has also announced that a new hospital to especially treat Covid-19 patients is being constructed at Midpu, near Doimukh, in Papum Pare district. This is going to be a prefabricated hospital in order to minimize the time needed for construction of the hospital. In the same hospital the government should set up another lab to test Covid-19 samples. This will ease the burden on TRIHMS. Also, the issue of lack of lab technicians to conduct tests is also arising. This too needs to be addressed with utmost urgency. The Covid-19 pandemic will not go away soon. Until a vaccine is developed, this will continue to be a threat to humanity. Therefore the state government should prepare a long-term plan to fight Covid-19.