Community contagion of COVID-19 hits Madhupur Tea Estate in Dhakuakhana

* 42 COVID-19 patients detected across Lakhimpur district

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: Causing an alarming threat to the human health in the neighbouring area, the Madhupur Tea Estate, located in Dhakuakhana subdivision of Lakhimpur district has turned to be a hotspot COVID-19 contagion of late. According to the allegation of the local people, the COVID-19 protocol has been flouted in the tea estate due to which community contagion of the dreaded novel coronavirus has hit the workers of the tea estate. Moreover, alleged dereliction on the part of the tea estate authority towards adopting due measures to prevent the pandemic has played the role of catalyst in spreading the contagion.

As per report found from the Health Department, a total of 11 COVID-19 patients were detected in the said tea estate till Sunday morning as per Rapid Antigen Test (RAT). Prior to it, altogether eight persons, including seven workers and the ambulance driver of the tea estate tested positive for COVID-19, thereby surging the number of COVID-19 infected people up to 19. Moreover, a ASHA worker of the area was also detected positive for COVID-19 earlier.

However, in view of the detection of these COVID-19 cases, Deputy Commissioner of Lakhimpur-cum-District Magistrate, Khageswar Pegu has declared the Madhupur Tea Estate as Containment Zone in order to arrest the spread of the pandemic and to break the chain of the contagion in the interest of the public health. By declaring the tea estate as containment zone under Section 3(b), (c), (h) and (m) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the Deputy Commissioner has restricted the exit and entry of the people in and out of the containment zone. During the containment period, the tea estate authority will have to designate staff for providing food and other essential services to people. The designated staff will have to be allowed to enter inside the containment zone only after wearing of full PPE kit. The tea estate authority must provide separate accommodation to the staff near the containment zone if required. For telemedicine, the people of the tea estate can contact on a mobile number 9395112332. This order will remain in force for 14 days.

On the other hand, a total of 42 fresh COVID-19 cases were detected in Lakhimpur on Sunday. Out of them, 41 people found positive as per the result of Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) conducted across the district. On the other hand, one person tested positive as per Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR) Test reported from Assam Medical College and Hospital, Dibrugarh. On this day, a total of 572 people underwent the RAT conducted by the District Health Department in eight COVID-19 test centers set up across the district including North Lakhimpur Urban Hospital, Lakhimpur Medical College and Hospital Respiratory Clinic and other Block Primary Health Centers (BPHCs). Out of them, the detected cases were reported from Dhalpur BPHC (4), Bihpuriya BPHC (6), Naoboicha BPHC (2) and Lakhimpur Medical College and Hospital Respiratory Clinic (29).

With these fresh patients, the cumulative total of COVID-19 cases of the district has surged to 9205 since April 4 of the last year. Out of them, 8,452 recovered patients have been discharged from hospitals and home isolation while there are 682 active cases in the district at present. On Sunday, 9 recovered patients were discharged from institutional isolation while 47 recovered patients were discharged from home isolation. A total of 1,102 people of the district tested positive for COVID-19 during the second wave of the contagion since April 1 of the current year till date.

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