Arunachal bars entry of foreigners in state

A day after Assan confirmed the visit of a Covicd-19 suspect from the United States, the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday banned the entry of foreigners to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the state.

The move comes close of the heels of Sikkim and Bhutan putting curbs on foreigners, with an aim to seal the access points to the state.

Chief secretary Naresh Kumar has directed the authorities to stop issuing protected area permits (PAP), a must for any foreigner visiting Arunachal, until further orders.

The government has directed all deputy commissioners to conduct regular meetings with district medical officers and frequently review the preparedness. A 24x7 control room has also been set up at the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme for responding to any queries on travel advisories regarding coronavirus. Rapid response teams have been formed to act as first responders to possible cases that are detected in the state.

Arunachal Pradesh health and family welfare minister Alo Libang, in a statement in the assembly on March 5, had said the government was working hard to prevent coronavirus cases in the state. The minister had further informed that an isolation ward with minimum two beds in district and general hospitals have been identified.

Five beds have been reserved at Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences at Naharlagun and Baken Pertin General Hospital at Pasight in East Siang district, he had said. Quarantine facilities have been arranged in Papum Pare, West Kameng, East Siang, Lower Dibang Valley, Tirap and Libang districts and passengers coming from outside are being screened as a preventive measure.

In a related development, the East Siang district medical officer Dr Kaling Dai has lodged an FIR against one Subu Kena Tsering at Pasighat Police Station for posting misleading information on coronavirus on the social media.