ITANAGAR, Sep 12: The RK Mission Hospital (RKMH) here will close down all its services for one week, from 14 to 20 September, to break the chain of transmission and prevent further spread of Covid-19.
Emergency services will be closed from 13 September itself.
This was decided in an emergency meeting held on Saturday between the hospital’s authorities and staffers, owing to the hospital’s staffers testing Covid-19 positive regularly.
The hospital authorities noted that 25 health workers, of whom three are doctors, have tested positive till date and the number is expected to increase if there is no intervention.
“The RKMH residential complex itself qualifies to be declared a containment zone, but it was thought more prudent to close down the hospital itself,” the hospital authorities said.
Now that the disease is in the community, the hospital has decided to rely on the methodology of testing and isolation.
Meanwhile, all the staffers will be tested, and their relatives too have been requested to get tested for Covid-19.
A condolence note was issued by RKM secretary Swami Vishweshananda for one of its healthcare workers, Salmi Sangdigoria, who contracted and succumbed fighting the disease while on duty.
She is the first healthcare worker in Arunachal who lost her life while on duty because of Covid-19 infection. The hospital paid rich tributes to the departed soul and mourned her untimely death.
Acknowledging that the weeklong closure would cause inconvenience, the hospital’s authorities expressed hope that the people would cooperate with the decision.
The RKMH also urged people to restrict their visit to the hospital in the coming days also and follow all precautionary measures needed to prevent the virus.
