[Staff Reporter]
NAMSAI, Aug 6: Fifty-four personnel of the army camp here in Namsai district tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday.
As per reports, a jawan complained of fever earlier in the day and visited the district hospital at around 7 am, where he was found to be Covid-19 positive.
Later, 81 personnel from the camp were tested and 54 were found to be positive, including the first army man.
In the meantime, the army posted in Namsai town held a porters recruitment rally at the government higher secondary school in Mahadevpur on 2 and 3 August, in which 700 applicants from Namsai and nearby districts participated.
Some of the army personnel who had been engaged for the recruitment rally also tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday.
Considering that there is every possibility of the virus having been transmitted to the aspirants who participated in the recruitment rally, the Namsai district administration has issued a notice to all the aspirants/participants who were at the rally to remain in strict home quarantine for at least 14 days.
“During home quarantine period, if any symptoms of Covid-19, such as fever, cough, body pain, loss of smell and taste, etc, are noticed/felt, such person(s) shall immediately report to the nearest public health centre or the district surveillance officer at 89740 69955 to undergo Covid-19 testing,” the DA’s order read.
Dist hospital shut down
The district hospital here has been shut down for three days after the army man was found to be Covid-19 positive at the hospital on Thursday.
“As per procedure, the hospital will be closed from 6 to 8 August in order to sanitize the emergency, indoor and OPD building, and to test the staffers who were present at the time of duty,” DMO Dr Nang Soreya Namchoom informed through a notification.
The DMO has also requested patients, including pregnant women, to visit the community health centres in Mahadevpur or Chowkham for further treatment.
Emergency services at the hospital will resume from 9 August, and normal services will resume from 10 August.
