Nagaland's 1st COVID-19 Patient from Dimapur added to Tally of Assam?

Kohima, April 17, 2020:

Amid rising confusions over which state -- Nagaland or Assam -- will accept the case of the 33-year-old Dimapur man with a travel history to affected areas who had tested positive, the Nagaland Government seems to have added the patient to the tally of Assam.

The patient had tested positive at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Aril 12. Assam's Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was the first to make the announcement via Twitter.

Now, as per the status report on the COVID-19 released by the Nagaland Government, no cases of the virus have been detected in the state. At the very bottom of the report published by Nagaland's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare are the following words written in bold: The positive case of Nagaland have been added to the tally of Assam state as sampling was done in Assam. The patient is admitted to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.

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An Inside Northeast source in Nagaland has stated that the state's officials are perhaps reluctant to count the case as their own because of the "stigma" around COVID-19. The source, under condition of anonymity said, "Earlier, the Health Minister of Nagaland tweeted that the patient is from Nagaland, but the administration seems reluctant to add him to the Nagaland list as there is a huge stigma over the COVID-19 here".

When contacted in regards to the situation, Assam Health Himanta Biswa Sarma told Inside Northeast that whatever the central government decides under the facts and circumstances, he will be "fine" with it.

Note: Assam's tally of COVID-19 cases stands at 34; 34 patients have been cured/discharged

Curiously enough, the Health Minister of Nagaland S Pangnyu Phom has sent out a series of tweets in which he is seen acknowledging that the patient is indeed from Nagaland.

In a recent tweet, he wrote, "the condition of the first patient from Dimapur who was tested +ve at Guwahati Medical College yesterday is improving. His father's sample was tested Negative on the first test. Grateful to all frontliners of Assam who is tkng care of the patient."

In a subsequent tweet, he wrote, "condition of the first COVID-19 patient from Nagaland is stable and is at ICU for further observations. His father is also doing fine & placed under observation. Wish for the patients speedy recovery."

His COVID-19 positive status seems to have made the 33-year-old man from Nagaland’s commercial hub Dimapur “stateless”. The patient arrived from Kolkata by Air India Flight no 707, seat no 5B on March 24. According to official reports, he submitted a self declaration form to medical staff and was advised home quarantine for 14 days. Later, he was referred to Guwahati by the Zion hospital in Dimapur. After he tested positive, the hospital too was sealed off to contain the outbreak.

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