Institutional quarantine mandatory for those returning to Arunachal: Govt

Guwahati: Amid skyrocketing cases of the coronavirus across the nation, Arunachal Pradesh has imposed a ruthless quarantine regime for those who will be entering the state from outside in the coming times, and institutional quarantine is being made mandatory.

Laying out the procedure for returnees to the state, the Government says that all those who enter the state shall first be sent for institutional quarantine. At the quarantine facilities, they will be subjected to 100% RT PCR testing to check for traces of the contagion. "Only when the person tests negative, he or she is discharged from institutional quarantine and sent for completion of 14 days strict home quarantine under supervision of the district administration", the Government said in a statement.

In a nutshell, Arunachal Pradesh is observing "mass testing" of the returning citizens who are beginning to trickle back in amid easing of the lockdown restrictions in the country.

Meanwhile, Arunachal PM Pema Khandu has urged the people from other states who are stranded in Arunachal Pradesh to stay put. "I would wish people from other states stranded in Arunachal to better stay back. Arunachal is safe and your stay here can better guarantee your safety from coronavirus. We are always ready to take good care of the stranded people from other states here in Arunachal", Khandu said recently, making an appeal.

No Longer Corona Free:

It is pertinent to mention here Arunachal Pradesh reported a fresh case of the Covid-19, more than a month after it was declared COVID-19 free. The latest patient in the state is a 30-year-old student who recently returned from Delhi tested positive, a senior health official said.

Health Secretary P Parthiban said that the student, who is a UPSC aspirant, used to live in West Patel Nagar area of Delhi, returned to the state on a bus on May 18. He boarded the bus at Gole Market area and it travelled through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam before reaching Arunachal, where he disembarked. Like all other returnees, he was put in institutional quarantine, and his sample was taken on May 22, after which he was declared as coronavirus positive.

Meanwhile, with 6,387 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, India's count of Covid-19 rose to 1,51,767 today, 170 people have also died in the last 24 hours due to the virus. Among all states, Maharashtra has the highest number of Covid-19 cases with 54,758.

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