The Tripura health department has placed an order of 1,000 N95 masks as protective gears to prevent coronavirus from spreading across the state.

The N95 mask is a safety device that covers the nose and mouth and protect the user from breathing in hazardous substances.

The state government has purchased the first consignment of the masks — through the National Health Mission (NHM) — which will arrive on Monday. On Sunday, the director of family welfare and preventive medicine, Dr Radha Debbarma, said: “We held a high-level meeting with all the state’s healthcare executives and medical professionals on Saturday and had taken many decisions. In the meeting we decided to purchase 1,000 N95 masks. These will be provided to healthcare professionals and any individual suspected of carrying the virus during a preliminary check. We are prepared.”

She said they had set up an isolation ward at Agartala Government Medical College and appointed Dr Anjan Das of the respiratory medicine department as nodal officer for the virus related issue.

“Today Dr Satyajit Sen, an expert from the World Health Organisation (WHO), arrived in Agartala to start thermal screening of people coming to the state via land custom stations, check-posts and Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport from neighbouring Bangla-desh,” Debbarma added.

She said a few persons were traced in Agartala who had recently visited China, adding screenings were done but no positive report was found.

“According to the latest report, over 4,000 people were screened in the last four to five days at the Akhaura international check-post and Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport. Screenings are being held in all the eight districts as well,” Debbarma added. Chief medical officer of North Tripura district, Dr Jagadish Nama said: “We have deployed medical teams in Churaibari which shares the boundary with Assam and in Damcherra which shares the boundary with Mizoram.”

The National Health Mission, Assam, on Sunday said the person who was admitted at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital on Saturday with fever and skin rash symptoms was affected measles and not by coronavirus as reported by some news channel. “The person is not identified as coronavirus positive. The patient has been kept under observation,” said a message from NHM, Assam.

Additional reporting by a staff reporter in Guwahati