Manipur COVID-19 Case: All 11 Tripura Co-Passengers Test NEGATIVE

Agartala, March 26, 2020:

All the 11 persons from Tripura who had been identified as co-passengers of Northeast's first COVID-19 positive patient reported in Manipur, have been tested as 'NEGATIVE', the State's Chief Minister, Biplab Kumar Deb, said via a video message.

The Chief Minister, in his video transmission, said, “All the 11 persons were tested negative in the final reports that reached the health department today”. The Chief Minister also urged people to extend sympathy to the health staffs who have been working relentlessly. “I have been informed by some of my health staffs and doctors that they are being told to leave the places where they used to live on rent. This practice has to be stopped. All the doctors and health staffs are safe from any infection. They are the people who are working overnight just to safeguard us. I request everyone to help the health officials to continue their services”, he said.

His remarks come in the wake of a couple of incidents that took place in the city where health staffs and doctors residing in rented houses were asked to vacate their rented rooms. The landlords apparently feared that the doctors and health staffs were most exposed to this disease and could be possibly carrying the contagion.

ALSO READ: Russian Tourist Found Roaming on Guwahati Streets Despite Lockdown, Alarm Raised

Such an incident took place at Krishnanagar area of Agartala located in the city's very heart, where a nurse had been asked to leave her rented room. Speaking to this reporter, the nurse who has asked to remain anonymous said, “Since the virus struck, an apparent behavioral change over my landlords. And, as soon as the first case was reported in Manipur, I was asked to leave as soon as possible”. The Chief Minister also assured that legal actions would be taken as per the epidemic act that came into force last week.

The nurse hails from a small town of the city located about 50 kilometers away. However, a large number of nurses and doctors actually belong to far-flung areas.

Notably, a clarification from Deb has finally dispelled the cloud of speculations and rumors surrounding COVID-19 positive cases in Tripura. Since the case was reported in Manipur and it was revealed that the patient had landed in Agartala before reaching Manipur, a section of persons started a string of rumors surrounding COVID-19 positive cases in Tripura who had gone missing. Few social media profiles had also leaked the name of all the passengers who had boarded the flight.

Speaking to this this reporter, a highly placed police officer of the cyber crime department said, “We are monitoring the social media platforms since the lockdown has been clamped. A section of fake profiles have been identified which are trying to foment trouble among the people. Police are being also trolled in the social media. Stringent actions will be taken to trace the troublemakers in order to calm the public sentiment”.

Support Inside Northeast (InsideNE), an independent media platform that focuses on Citizen-centric stories from Northeast India that are surprising, inspiring, cinematic and emotionally relevant.