Shillong, July 23: A senior doctor in Meghalaya has tested positive for Covid-19. Commissioner and Secretary (Health & Family Welfare Department), Sampath Kumar issued a statement on Thursday night that the doctor who is a senior Anaesthesiologist at Shillong Civil Hospital has tested positive.
An OPD of the hospital will be closed on Friday. “The doctor had contracted this disease while attending a Covid-19 patient who was critically ill in the Covid Unit of the hospital and the said doctor developed symptoms a few days later after treating the critical patient (who later passed away at NEIGRIHMS).
While the movement of the doctor is only in a few limited areas of the hospital and he hardly had any contact with patients, it is hereby informed that all the high-risk contacts of this doctor are from the Covid Unit and follow a rigorous protocol where they are tested every 7 days and quarantined as per the State Government protocol,†the statement said.
Meanwhile the Commissioner and Secretary said that while there have been instances wherein healthcare workers are stigmatized during such incidents, the Government advises the public and solicits cooperation from all community members to be more empathetic towards the health workers and doctors who have been putting their lives at stake for the safety of our people.
“In this regard, the Community Covid-19 Management Committees are hereby requested to ensure that there is no panic about this incident in their respective localities as healthcare workers have always been extra-careful about their behaviour in their workspaces as well as personal space,†Kumar added.
