GMCH
A file photo of the entrance of GMCH.
Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 19
"The positive case of Nagaland has been added to the tally of Assam state as sampling was done in Assam. The patient is admitted in Guwahati Medical College (GMCH)" has been the official stand of the Nagaland state government since the first COVID-19 positive case was reported from the state on April 12.
A convenient disclaimer on the part of the Nagaland government, yet, on the other side, it has been no more than shifting responsibility.
A week since Nagaland's first COVID-19 patient was admitted at the GMCH, it has emerged that the Nagaland governement has yet to officially liaise with its counterpart.
A clearly exasperated GMCH official told The Morung Express, late on April 19 night, that the Nagaland government has not bothered to check up on the patient at an official level.
"Please put someone from Nagaland House (Guwahati) to liaise. Nobody has visited my office. This is my request, please ask the Nagaland House (officials) to come here," were the words of GMCH Superintendent Dr Ramen Talukdar.
By Nagaland House, he clearly implied the Nagaland state government or the Health Department.
On Nagaland's part, the government's update on the condition/status of the patient has been no more than a disclaimer.
As to the patient's condition, Dr Talukdar said that his condition has improved.
"He is in the ICU now. But tomorrow (April 20), we are planning to shift him to the Isolation Ward," he said.
He added that the patient's nasal swab sample was collected on April 18 for a second test. He did not specify the test result, while stating that a third test will be conducted on the 17th day since his admission to the GMCH.
Earlier in the evening, the Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in a cryptic reply to a tweet informed that the patient from Nagaland is "recovering well" without giving any further details.
