Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Jul 15: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Arunachal Pradesh branch on Monday appealed to the people to stop ostracizing frontline workers and Covid positive people.
IMA president DrLobsang Tsetim, in a press conference held at the Rama Krishna Hospital on Wednesday said, “The incredible stories of frontline workers who are working day and night should be told, so that they feel encouraged and their morale is boosted.”
The IMA Arunachal branch president also stated that the society needs to treat all positive cases with care and compassion.
“Do not discriminate or abuse frontline health workers and police personnel who live in your locality. They keep you safe from Covid-19. Help them to help you,” the doctor appealed to the public.
“We are not demanding special treatment. However, we demand a dedicated Covid care centre for health workers and doctors if they turn positive, to keep their morale high,”Dr Lobsang exhorted.
He also stressed on the roles and responsibilities of every individual to contain the virus from spreading at the community level.
“Social and behavioural responsibility of each and every individual is crucial to contain Covid from spreading. The health authority and government alone cannot stop it unless the public cooperate,” he said.
The IMA Arunachal also stressed on incorporation of four social norms R-Responsibility, Reminder, Reprimand and Respect.
It also said correct information sharing and stigma reduction is the only way to prevent imminent danger of community transmission by treating everyone as a potential carrier.
The IMA further apprised the government to do effective contact tracing and scale up screening. It also asked the government to recruit more health workers in the health department as TRIHMS is overwhelmed.
Appreciating the government’s decision to convert the MLA apartments at Chimpu into a dedicated Covid hospital, the IMA Arunachal branch appealed to the protesting residents of the locality to cooperate with the government.
“The numbers are growing every day and the TRIHMS is overwhelmed. The responsible public should cooperate with the government,” Dr Lobsang said.
On the surge of Covid positive cases outside quarantine centres, IMA Arunachal vice president Dr Kesang Thongdok clarified that “Arunachal is now at stage-2 and the source of transmission is traceable. the Covid situation in Arunachal is well under control and that there is no need to panic.”
