RKM Hospital in Itanagar shuts for a week as Covid-19 cases among staff spike

The Rama Krishna Mission Hospital in Itanagar will temporarily stop all its services for a week from Monday after a spike in Covid-19 cases among its staff, sources at the medical facility said.

Emergency services in the hospital have also been stopped from Sunday, they said.

The decision was taken at a meeting between the hospital authorities and the staff on Saturday, they added.

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Twenty-five health workers, including three doctors, were found to be positive for Covid-19 over the past few days, the sources said.

The hospital authorities said that the residential complex was qualified to be declared a containment zone, however, it was decided that more prudent would be to close down the hospital to break the chain of infection and prevent further spread of the virus.

CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH

A decision was also taken to test all the staffers and their relatives, they said.

The hospital authorities also urged people to restrict their visit for the week and adhere to all precautionary measures.

State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

In the meeting, hospital secretary Swami Vishweshananda mourned the death of Salmi Sangdigoria, the hospitals sanitary assistant who succumbed to Covid-19 while on duty. She died on Friday.