Despite continuing lockdowns both partial and total, especially in Dimapur and Kohima, COVID-19 cases in Nagaland continue to rise with 194 cases on August 3 recording the highest ever spike till date, surpassing the earlier record of 130 cases on August 1, 2020.
On Monday, the highest single-day spike of 194 COVID-19 positive cases was recorded which also breached the 2000-mark, taking the tally to 2129 cases– 1464 active, 657 recovered, 6 deaths and 2 migrated.
Nagaland Health minister, S. Pangnyu Phom, informed that 194 fresh cases on Monday were detected from out of 845 samples that were tested. Of these, 136 cases were detected from Dimapur, 36 from Zunheboto and 22 from Kohima.
As per the severity of symptoms, 1,462 active cases were asymptomatic, 1 mild, 1 admitted to ICU on oxygen. Out of 6 deaths– 4 died due to COVID, 1 death (positive) but not due to COVID and 1 death under investigation (co-morbidities and positive case).
According to Health department data (positive cases by domicile district), Dimapur recorded the highest number of cases at 917, followed by Kohima- 462, Peren- 331, Mon- 174, Zunheboto- 68, Tuensang- 51, Phek- 30, Wokha- 23, Mokokchung- 18, Longleng- 5, Kiphire- 4 and others- 46.
As per Health department’s status update as on August 3, the highest COVID positive cases were reported from among armed forces personnel- 113 cases (Dimapur-71, Kohima-6. Zunheboto- 36). The cases included returnees- 33, frontline workers-23, traced contacts- 24 and others-1 (related to Nagaland Legislative Assembly session, Raj Bhavan and patients excluding returnees).
Health officials had earlier told media that spurt in cases began in July, after a large number of personnel whose leave were extended in light of the Covid-19 lockdown, were called back to Nagaland.
Talking to The Print, principal director Health & Family Welfare Dr. Vizolie Z. Suokhrie said: “We need to contain this problem. The flow of military and paramilitary forces doesn’t stop because the orders come from the ministry (at the Centre) and we also know the constraints they have.”
With the COVID-19 cases continuing to surpass earlier spikes, a considerable alarm among public that the government’s insistence of these being due to local transmission and not localised community transmission failed to cut much ice.
According to information from various sources, some of those infected with COVID-19 in Dimapur, had no travel history.
A medical specialist had told Nagaland Post that the definition of ‘community transmission’ defies the magnitude of the crisis but he could only confidently say ‘the Wuhan virus’ is going around infecting people indiscriminately.
Some leading experts like AIIMS former director Dr. M.C. Mishra, virologist Shahid Jameel, lung surgeon Dr. Arvind Kumar and eminent epidemiologist Dr. Jayaprakash Muliyil on June13, had come out to urge the government to accept that the pandemic reached the community transmission stage “a long time ago”.
They made their appeal soon after the ICMR’s claim, India has still not reached community transmission (Stage-3).