No medical team could be spotted at Chagolia, the inter-state entry point to Assam from West Bengal, till Thursday evening to screen “incoming” travellers for coronavirus symptoms, though Dispur decided to close more public places till March 31.
Though a medical team has been camping at Dhubri river port since last week, Chagolia checkgate on National Highway 31 in Dhubri district continued to remain unattended most of the day. Notably, Bengal detected its first coronavirus case on Tuesday.
Dhubri joint director of health service S.M. Emdad Ullah said no medical team could be deployed at Chagolia in the morningbecause of shortage of staff. “However, we are preparing a list of persons residing outside the state who are now returning home. We are monitoring their health on a regular basis through ASHA workers and local health officials,” he said.
The state government, which had earlier closed down educational institutes, cinema halls, gyms, multiplexes and bars, on Thursday also closed down museums, libraries, coaching centres and barber shops. Locals in Dhubri, however, alleged that all barber shops and salons were open.
Wasim Choudhury, a resident of Dhubri, said, “Many youths working in places like Kerala and Maharashtra, states worst-affected by coronavirus, are returning home. A proper medical check-up at the entry gate is essential to ensure that no person having coronavirus enters the state.”
Thousands of vehicles enter Assam daily through Chagolia in Dhubri and Srirampur in Kokrajhar district, both bordering Bengal.
Sources at Srirampur said the Kokrajhar medical health service has deputed a team but they are examining only those coming from Bhutan (people from the neighbouring country also enter Assam through this checkgate) but not those from Bengal. They said the Bengal government had also set up a medical check-up point within their jurisdiction and no one from Assam or Bhutan was allowed to enter that state without proper medical check-up.
To prevent spread of the disease, chemistry students of Bhola Nath College in Dhubri, and Cotton University and B. Barooah College in Guwahati, have prepared hand sanitizers from the chemicals available in their laboratory — isopropyl alcohol, glycerol and hydrogen peroxide. “We will distribute it to the food stalls and shops outside our college,” BN College principal Dhruba Chakraborty said. The students of other departments are also volunteering to distribute leaflets on Covid-19 symptoms and preventive measures, he added. Kokrajhar Science College students launched an awareness drive on Thursday.
The Bodoland Territorial Council will deploy vehicles with announcement system to all the four districts under it (Kokrajhar, Chirang, Udalguri and Baksa) to create awareness about the precautions to be taken and to distribute medicated soap to people.
On Thursday, Silchar Medical College became an accredited centre for coronavirus testing, state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a tweet. The other such facilities in Assam are at GMCH, RMRC Dibrugarh and JMCH Jorhat.
Till Thursday, 16,508 passengers had been screened at airports, 4,070 at land ports and 58,192 persons at other places like railway stations and bus stand in the state.
Altogether 1,003 travellers from Covid-19-affected countries have been identified, of whom 164 have completed observation for 28 days while 839 are under home isolation. Till date, 41 samples have been collected of of which have tested negative. Two of the samples were sent to NIV Pune, nine to RMRC, Lahowal, in Dibrugarh, 26 to Virological Lab GMCH, Guwahati, three to JMCH, Jorhat, and one to SMCH, Silchar. Till Thursday, 1,489 calls were received and information given on the helpline number 104. The state government is monitoring the situation round-the-clock.
Additional reporting by Mukesh Kumar Singh and Rinoy Basumatary in Kokrajhar
