E-Paper
Covid-19 cases in North-East crosses 100; reaches figure in 42 days
From first case of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in March 24, it reached 50 in 24 days and doubled in 18 days, according to data.
With 15 patients testing positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Assam and Meghalaya on Tuesday, the number of cases in northeast India has now crossed the 100-mark.
Assam with 45 cases has the highest number of patients, followed closely by Tripura with 42 and Meghalaya with 12 cases. Manipur had two cases, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram one case each and Nagaland without any—taking the region’s total to 103 cases.
The first case in the region was detected on March 24 when a 23-year-old woman who returned from the UK to Manipur was found positive. The same day, a 50-year-old pastor from Mizoram who had returned from the Netherlands also tested positive.
The region reached the 50 cases mark on April 17—24 days after the first patient was tested positive. The figure doubled in the next 18 days.
There have been recoveries too. With all their patients testing negative in consecutive tests, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram have no active Covid-19 cases at present.
In Assam, 33 patients, including the patient from Nagaland who was tested and treated in Guwahati, have recovered. Ten patients in Meghalaya have recovered and Tripura has recorded two recoveries.
Fortunately, the number of Covid-19 fatalities in the region has also been low to date. Only Assam and Meghalaya have recorded one death each.
At present, Tripura with 40 has the highest number of active cases, followed by 11 in Assam and only one in Meghalaya.
While Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram have not reported any new case in more than a month, the number of cases has risen slowly in Assam with two people testing positive on Tuesday.
Meghalaya has not recorded any new case since April 20.
There has been a sudden spike in cases in Tripura, which had claimed Covid-19 free status on April 24 after the two patients had tested negative.
But on May 2, two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel from the 138th battalion in Ambassa were found positive. A day later, 12 more people from the same battalion tested positive.
The trend continued on May 4, with 13 new cases including two children from the same BSF battalion testing positive and on May 5 (Tuesday) another 13 tested positive—taking Tripura’s tally to 42—two recoveries and 40 active cases.
The Tripura government has asked BSF to inquire the source of the infection in the battalion and reasons for its sudden spike.
Due to the sudden rise in cases, Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has declared Dhalai district, where the BSF battalion is stationed, as a red zone—the only one in the North-East.
Four of Assam’s 33 districts and one of Meghalaya’s 11 districts are in the orange zone. All other districts in the seven states in the region are in the green zone.
