A quarantine centre in Manipur’s Churachandpur district has come under the scanner after its inmates allegedly partied, throwing caution to the wind.
Locals alerted district officials to two videos on the inmates of Bimala Raina Government High School quarantine centre that went viral. One of 30 seconds and the other of 16, the videos showed a few young men and women dancing, holding hands.
“The centre has about 25 persons who had arrived by flight. A video clip showed three-four people dancing. There is no report on partying as such, but we have ordered a probe into the incident,” Churachandpur Deputy Commissioner Pawan Yadav said.
A police team visited the centre on Saturday and warned the inmates against flouting physical distancing and other norms imposed to check the spread of COVID-19, he said.
Churachandpur, where tribes belonging to the Kuki and Zomi groups are dominant, has 84 quarantine centres that house some 2,000 returnees.
‘Female deity’
The novel coronavirus has turned into a female deity in Assam where the total number of positive cases went up to 2,565 by 4.30 p.m. on Sunday. Of them, 1,943 were active.
Since Saturday, people in at least five districts on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra have undertaken ‘Corona Devi puja’ to spare them her wrath. The prayers with minimal rituals are being performed near river banks, mainly by women.
“No one has found a way to control the virus that is killing people by hundreds. We hope the virus goddess is appeased enough to spare us and this land,” said Sabita Das of a village near Sipajhar in Darrang district.
