COVID-19: Nagaland to give Rs 10,000 to stranded persons opting not to return at present

Grappling with issues such as insufficient quarantine facilities and no COVID-19 testing centre, the Nagaland government has decided to give one-time assistance of Rs 10,000 each to migrants stranded in others states if they choose not to return at the moment, a senior official said on Wednesday.

States bringing back stranded persons from different parts of the country during a nationwide lockdown have witnessed a rise in COVID-19 cases, Chief Secretary Temjen Toy said, adding that over 18,000 stranded people from Nagaland have registered themselves with the state government's portal to return to their homes.

"The government has decided to give Rs 10,000 to citizens of the state, presently staying outside, who opt to stay back where they are at present," Toy said.

On Tuesday, the chief secretary had said that the state government had made detailed plans to facilitate the return of the migrants in a staggered manner due to insufficient quarantine facilities and other resources but the Centre starting special train services to ferry stranded people to their native places has "thrown these plans out of gear".

Considering the circumstances, the state government has decided to prioritise the return of stranded elderly persons and patients who had gone outside the state for treatment, he said.

Additional Chief Secretary Sentiynager Imchen, convener of Empowered Group on COVID-19, said it has been decided that those returning from red zones will be screened at Dimapur or Kohima and placed under 14 days institutional quarantine.

People returning from orange and green zones, if found asymptomatic during screening, will be placed under three days institutional quarantine and then 12 days home isolation after necessary documentation and mandatory downloading of mobile application nCOVID-19 Nagaland, he said.

The decisions in this regard were taken at a meeting of the Empowered Group on Tuesday, Imchen said.

The state Health Department had on Tuesday said protocols have been completed to set up the state's first COVID-19 testing laboratory at the Naga Hospital Authority Kohima and the ICMR's approval for it is awaited.

No COVID-19 case has been reported in Nagaland so far and the samples are sent for testing to facilities in Assam and Manipur.