Govt. hospital shut in Manipur as four doctors, nurse test positive

Three areas in Imphal declared as containment zones

A girl buys surgical masks which are in high demand due to COVID-19 situation in Imphal, Manipur. (File photo for representation.)

The government hospital at Leimapokpam in Bishnupur district of Manipur has been closed after four doctors and a staff nurse tested COVID-19 positive.

Meanwhile, the Imphal West district Collector has declared three areas in Imphal as containment zones. Officials said the decision was taken after two persons in two hotels and a local resident just opposite the Imphal City police station tested positive.

Local volunteers have been erecting fencings in their areas and village roads to prevent movement of people to curb spread of the infection.

Inmates of some quarantine centres have been complaining about poor facilities. A young mother whose child was infected said, “We are lodged in a COVID-19 care centre where one woman is already there. Two men were in a different part of the building. There was outage soon after dark. For sometime we used light from mobile phones. But the battery drained and we remained the whole night sleepless.”

11 deaths

So far 11 patients have died in Manipur and the number of infected persons is increasing every day.

Chingkhei Nganbi, general secretary of the Women Welfare Organisation, Kangleipak, has condemned the denial of treatment to an expectant mother from Noney district, who died in Imphal, despite a doctor issuing a certificate that the tribal woman was COVID-19 negative. Many organisations and activists have demanded punishment to those responsible for her death. The Manipur government has issued a circular saying that doctors should treat all patients coming to hospitals.