Cachar administration to use auditoriums of GC College, Cachar College for setting up "Contract Tracing teams"

Cachar administration has requisitioned the auditorium of GC College and Cachar College by exercising the powers vested with District Disaster Management Authority under section 34.

In a letter issued by the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), it has been stated that the decision has been taken considering the rapid growth of Covid cases in the district. “The outbreak of Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) and its wide outspread has posed a potential threat to the human lives and rapid steps are being taken from District Disaster Management Authority, Cachar to deal with it With a view to further augment our efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19,” states the letter.

However, the administration has made it clear that not patients will be treated in these auditoriums. The Cachar district administration has intensified contact tracing and that is why, DDC in-charge, Jessica Rose Lalsim says, the administration needs larger hall which can accommodate more people working in the contact tracing team. “No testing will be done at these auditoriums and these are not for treating patients either,” says Lalsim. She adds, “Hospitals and Covid Care Centres are for treating patients.”

Explaining the mechanism of contact tracing, Lalsim says, “For example, Mr X is tested positive, contact tracing team will ask him with whom he had come in contact. Then the team will contact each contact of Mr. X. Data entry operators will upload the name of Mr. X and all his contacts. Then the detail list will be sent to IDSP. Later corona test will be done for all contacts of Mr. X. Since we have many positive cases we require big halls for sitting arrangement of contact tracing teams.”

All over India, the district administrations have intensified contact tracing as testing and isolating them could break the chain. Lalsim informed that testing will be done in other designated locations as decided by the Department of Health. “If Mr. X is from link road. All his contacts are from link road. Then testing team will identify a place in the Link Road area for testing of all contacts,” the in-charge DDC adds. By testing at native locations, the administration wants to ensure the contacts are not traveling which can risk a further spread in infection.

“Sometimes Corona patients do not divulge his/her contacts. In that event, our ASHA workers will visit the house of Corona positive patient and find out details of family members. With whom he/she might have come into contact,” Jessica Rose Lalsim concludes.