One Mumbai returnee tests positive for COVID-19
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, May 14 2020: A 31 year old man who went to Mumbai for medical treatment of his father has been tested positive for COVID-19, thereby taking the State's total positive cases to 3 .

JNIMS Director Dr Th Bhimo said that four samples were tested for COVID-19 at JNIMS today and one of them was found to be positive.

Subsequently, the man was immediately taken to the hospital's isolation ward.

According to information received from the Health Department, the man who has been found positive is asymptomatic and he hails from Khurai Heikru Makhong, Imphal West.

He left Mumbai in a car (Creta) on May 9 and he reached Mao at around 1.30 AM of May 13 .

Notably, the mother of the man died of COVID-19 on May 5 at Mumbai.

After identifying all the four people who travelled together from Mumbai to Imphal in the same car, they were put in the community quarantine centre opened at Jamia Halmia Azij School.

The man who left Mao after screening at 6 am yesterday reached IIIT at 11.30 am and he then went to Modern College at 1.30 pm.

A statement issued by Additional Director (Health) Dr Khoirom Sasheekumar Mangang informed that tracing of contacts of the COVID-19 positive man and active surveillance have already begun.

Together with district rapid response teams, 40 district surveillance teams and sub-surveillance teams have been constituted.

Moreover, COVID-19 treatment blocks have been readied at JNIMS and RIMS.

The 31 year old man is the third person in Manipur to test positive for COVID-19.The first case in Manipur was detected on March 24 this year after a 23 year old girl from Thangmeiband tested positive after her return from England, where she was studying.

The second case was detected on April 2 when a man from Lilong and who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat do at New Delhi's Nizamuddin in the middle week of March tested positive.

Fortunately for Manipur the two patients recovered and they have been discharged from hospital after undergoing necessary treatment, taking Manipur to the Green Zone then.

For those who have returned from different parts of the country in the last few days, quarantine centres have been set up at all the districts to house the returnees and make them undergo the necessary 14 days quarantine period.

Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary has instructed all DCs to ensure that private vehicles are not used by people in quarantine centres while going to respective district screening centres.

For Imphal East and Imphal West, MST buses or other vehicles would be hired.

Other districts too should follow suit, said the Chief Secretary's directive.

On the other hand, following the detection of the new case today, Jamia Halima Aziz, Khabeisoi, the quarantine centre where the person was staying has been declared a containment zone.

The building has been completely sealed off to prevent spread of the virus, said an order issued by Deputy Commissioner Imphal East, Dr Rangitabali Waikhom.

Any person/institution/organisation found violating any of the containment shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under Section 188 of the IPC, said the order.

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