Cases of conjunctivitis are surging in Arunachal Pradesh and children are the most affected. As such, several district administrations have ordered a temporary suspension of school activities to curb the spread of the disease, government officials informed on Thursday, July 27.
After the capital Itanagar and Kanubari sub-division of the Longding district, the Namsai and East Siang district administrations ordered the closure of schools for a few days. All private and government schools in East Siang will remain temporarily closed till August 2, while those in Namsai have been suspended till July 31, an official said, as per a report by PTI.
The decision was taken after a comprehensive survey, conducted by the district surveillance units, revealed that conjunctivitis cases are on the rise. East Siang Deputy Commissioner Tayi Taggu stressed the importance of maintaining hygienic practices to curb the infection. He urged people to diligently follow the guidelines and advisories issued by the district medical officer to safeguard their health and well-being.
Meanwhile, the Namsai district administration has directed school-going children and other infected people to self-isolate and quarantine themselves to avoid any further transmission. On the other hand, more than 100 conjunctivitis cases were reported from various schools in Lower Dibang Valley and the number is on the rise. All schools in the district have also been directed to follow the public health advisory issued by the Roing Hospital to prevent the infection's spread.
Notably, the Tirap administration, in association with the district health society, conducted a survey and an awareness programme on acute conjunctivitis at Ramakrishna Sarada Mission Girls' School, Khonsa on Wednesday, July 26. Tirap Deputy Commissioner Hento Karga advised the students and teaching staff to maintain hygiene.
Karga explained that closing down schools will not be a solution because it will affect academic programmes. "Rather, we all should try individually to break the chain of the infection by maintaining social distance and hygiene," he said, as per PTI.
