Awareness Session on COVID 19 conducted at Raj Bhavan
An Awareness Session about Corona Virus Infectious Disease (COVID 19) was conducted in the Governor’s Secretariat, Itanagar for the employees of Raj Bhavan on 19th March 2020. Dr. Jennifer Tayeng, Senior Medical Officer, Raj Bhavan Dispensary cum State Trainer on COVID 19 Awareness Campaign briefed the employees, which included those attached to Raj Bhavan, about the epidemiology of COVID-19, globally and in India, preventive measures through personal hygiene and etiquette.
Dr. Tayeng said that spread of COVID 19 can be contain, if all the staff avoid closed crowded spaces, maintain distance of 1metre, refrain from touching own face, nose and mouth, physical contact like shaking hands and religiously follow frequent hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette. She advised the staffs to follow seven steps of Hand Washing, i.e. Step 1 – Wet your hands and apply enough soap (coin size), Step 2 – Rub your palms together, Step 3 – Rub the back of each hand, Step 4 – Rub both your hands while interlocking your fingers, Step 5 – Rub the back of your fingers, Step 5 – Rub the tips of your fingers, Step 6 – Rub your thumbs and the ends of your wrists and Step 7 – Rinse both hands properly with water. For easy catch up of the employees, she suggested a mnemonic ‘SUMAN K’ – ‘Seedha Ulta Mutthi Anghuta Nakhun Kalai’ in hand washing with soap and water or 70% alcohol based sanitizer.
Senior Medical Officer cautioned the staff against bulk purchasing of mask and hand sanitizers, which, she said deprives other people of the vital items, thereby inviting faster spread of the disease. You are not safe till others near you are safe, she said.
Dr. Tayeng asked the staffs to home quarantine any relatives coming from COVID 19 infected places having symptoms of any respiratory infections like cough for at least 14 days, before allowing them to move around. She emphasized on them to seek medical care immediately, in case, they find common symptoms include fever, fatigue, dry cough and breathing difficulty in their ward.
Dr. Tayeng warned against rumour mongers and said that action may be initiated by the administration against them by invoking powers conferred under section 2 of the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897.