Manipur: COVID-19 cases spike in Jiribam as 4 more test positive

Imphal: The rapid increase of COVID-19 positive cases in Jiribam in Manipur has raised great concerns among the public as the district has already witnessed 50 cases so far, of which at least 41 are police and VDF personnel deployed at Jiribam railway station, said a senior health official.

On Thursday, four more persons from Jiribam tested positive for COVID-19.

Police personnel getting exposed to the virus were first reported when an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of the Jiribam Police Station tested positive for COVID-19 on June 30, which resulted in samples of 200 personnel getting collected for testing.

Following the reports of sudden spurt of COVID-19 cases in Jiribam, an order for imposing complete curfew in the district was issued by chief secretary J Suresh Babu, who is also the chairperson of state executive committee of the state disaster management authority, on Saturday. Since then, the 17 segments in the district went on complete lockdown mode and Jiri Keithel has also been shut down indefinitely.

According to the district chief medical officer (CMO) Dr E Okendro Singh, the police personnel were part of the Manipur police unit deployed at the state’s lone Jiribam railway station during the evacuation mission which brought back stranded people from other states by trains.

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At present, at least 24 trains have arrived at Jiribam ferrying more than 25,000 passengers from various metro cities, as per the official.

Meanwhile, taking serious note on the sudden spike of COVID-19 cases, chief minister N Biren Singh had inaugurated a Rapid Antigen Detection Testing Center in Jiribam on Wednesday. The rapid test kits will help in early detection of the virus infection and quick diagnosis.

On Thursday, as many as 191 samples were tested at the rapid testing center, of which four tested COVID-19 positive. But, officials did not disclose details of the latest persons infected with the virus.

However, as per sources, the four persons who had tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday evening had no recent travel histories, an instance of local transmission, if the reports are true.

As per the reports, a 100-bedded COVID-19 Care Center is also soon going to be established at Model School, Harinagar to treat the COVID-19 positive patients from Jiribam district.

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