GUWAHATI: As Mizoram faces a shortage of healthcare facilities, two churches in the Christian-majority state came forward to offer their halls to be used as Covid-19 care centres.
The state’s Health and Family Welfare Board vice-chairman Dr ZR Thiamsanga, who is also an MLA of the ruling Mizo National Front, said the offer had come from two Presbyterian churches in the state capital Aizawl.
“I thank church leaders, community leaders, and people at large for helping the government at this hour of crisis,” Thiamsanga said.
At the same time, he had a word of caution as he said the state government would face a huge challenge in treating people if the number of Covid-19 cases continued to rise.
Mizoram is perhaps the only state in the country that has not recorded a single Covid-19 fatality. It has so far recorded 1,428 cases. There are now 598 active cases. Over 35% of the cases were reported from paramilitary forces. The state’s recovery rate is 58.13%.
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Till Sunday, 50,259 samples were tested for the disease. The state has a population of 11.2 lakh, according to a survey in 2014.
Health Minister Dr. R Lalthangliana said cooperation from all quarters helped the government fight the pandemic.
“We have managed the pandemic very efficiently by forming several task forces at district and village levels and involving the administration, NGOs, and villages. The opposition parties are also extending their cooperation,” Lalthangliana said.