Mizoram governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai on Friday sought the Centre’s help to address the problems faced by the state in view of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

During a video conference, Pillai told President Ram Nath Kovind the state was facing shortage of Covid-19 testing laboratories and personal protective equipment and urged him to look into the matter.

Pillai said Mizoram had implemented a statewide lockdown prior to the announcement of Janata Curfew by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the people of the state had responded strongly to the nationwide lockdown.

He said not only the NGOs, but also churches strongly supported the lockdown call. Massive efforts are being made by the people with the help of local or village-level task forces and more than 2,000 people are in home quarantine, he added.

Arunachal Pradesh governor Brig. (retd) B.D. Mishra also briefed Kovind on the initiatives taken by the state government. “Arunachalees are also grateful to the central government for the provision of monetary and essential ration items,” Mishra said.

App launch

The Mizoram government on Friday launched a mobile application to facilitate speedy dissemination of authenticated information related to Covid-19. The mobile app, mCOVID-19, can be downloaded from mcovid19.mizoram.gov.in.

The state government also launched helpline numbers for farmers — 0389-2311160 and 03892328564 — to address the problem of farmers between 10am and 2pm.