Nagaland Govt exposed; State not ready to tackle COVID-19: NSCN (IM)

News Desk

The NSCN (IM) has stated that the much hyped preparation of the Government of Nagaland to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic has been exposed with the detection of a positive case from the State on April 12.

“Nagaland is not fully geared up as claimed by the state government,” it said.

In a statement, the NSCN (IM) said it is clear beyond doubt that the case of the COVID-19 positive patient was not handled in the manner as per the protocol demanded by the seriousness of the situation.

“What is more shocking is the snail pace progress of the construction of the Covid-19 Hospital in Dimapur. Short of funds should not be the reason when the Government of India has generously provided hundreds of crores of rupees,” it said.

What has annoyed the people the most, the NSCN (IM) said is the callous manner of not sending the suspected patient to the quarantine centre where he can be monitored 24 hours and thereby doing away the risk of infecting others if his case proved otherwise.

“This is a serious lapse that has put the life of many at risk now,” it stated.

The NSCN (IM) also hit out at the “irresponsible mentality” of the COVID-19 patient and his family members by not disclosing his travel history, which it said has jeopardized the fighting preparation of the whole Dimapur to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

Stating that for this very reason, the patient and his family members should not be allowed to go scot free, the NSCN (IM) said, “They have taken covid-19 protocol for granted. This is a criminal breach of protocol.”

The NSCN (IM) further stated that the first COVID-19 case in Nagaland is a wake up call for Rio-led PDA Government to stand up on its feet and start doing everything on war footing – “strict action as per protocol and not just words”.
“Let the fight against Covid-19 be a collective fight with collective wisdom,” it appealed.