Health officials quarantine woman in remote hamlet in Arunachal Pradesh

ITANAGAR: A medical team traversed landslide-prone muddy roads and crossed a flooded river to home quarantine a woman and her contacts in a remote hamlet in Arunachal Pradesh's Papum Pare district, officials said on Tuesday.

The woman had recently sneaked into neighbouring Assam's Sonitpur district to meet her relatives without informing authorities of either State; and returned to her Karbi Colony hamlet on July 18, sparking fears among her neighbours that she might have been infected with coronavirus, they said.

After being alerted by the residents of Karbi Colony, a medical team led by Dr Simanto Borah of Tarasso Primary Health Centre undertook a 30-km journey to reach the village on July 19; and home quarantined the woman and her local contacts, Papum Pare District Reproductive and Child Health Officer (DRCHO) Dr Worar Taku said.

The Health personnel completed a portion of the journey on motorbikes and covered the remaining distance on foot, crossing the Tarasso River which is in spate due to floods, Dr Taku added.

"A total of 10 persons, including the woman, her family members and other local contacts have been home quarantined. Antigen testing kits are not available in the PHC at the moment. Their samples will be collected for COVID-19 tests as soon as possible," Dr Borah informed.

A video of the medical team crossing the flooded river has gone viral on social media, grabbing the attention of Chief Minister Pema Khandu.

Lauding the Health personnel for their dedication to work, Khandu tweeted: "Immense respect to our Healthcare workers and policemen who are on COVID-19 duty even in such extreme weather conditions and in inaccessible areas. Let us stand solidly behind our Corona Warriors."

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