ITANAGAR, Aug 2: Out of the 1,351 people who underwent rapid antigen tests in the Itanagar capital region (ICR) on Sunday, eight tested positive for Covid-19.
ICR DMO Dr Mandip Perme informed that the health department carried out large-scale testing during the lockdown period.
“During the lockdown period, the total number of tests carried out in the ICR is 39,449, including 28,479 antigen, 1,608 TrueNat, and 9,362 RT-PCR tests.
“Total 810 tested positive, and 557 patients have been discharged after fully recovering. Till now, 253 active cases remain,” Dr Perme informed.
He said the department has managed to break the chain of infection by conducting aggressive testing and isolating the infected people.
“We have covered as much population as possible and broke the chain of infection. The maximum cases have been reported from IMC wards number 15, 16, 17 and 18. The highest numbers of tests were done in these wards,” the DMO said.
He said that, based on a study conducted by the health department at the Covid care centre in Lekhi, the maximum number of the people who tested positive for coronavirus were infected because of failure to wear a mask.
“They also did not follow social distancing norms. Please learn from their mistake and wear mask and follow the SOPs. The department or the government alone cannot defeat Covid-19 without the cooperation of the citizens,” Dr Perme said.
He urged the people living in the containment zones to strictly follow the guidelines issued by the district administration.
The DMO praised the roles played by former IMC councillors, MLA Techi Kaso, Joint Health Secretary M Riba, the EACs of Itanagar and Naharlagun, the IMC, the ACCI, the health department, student unions, political parties, NGOs, etc, in enabling conducting large-scale testing.
