On Sunday, Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh took to Twitter to make an announcement: his state, which was the first from the Northeast to report a coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive case, is free from the viral outbreak, albeit temporarily.
“I am glad to share that Manipur is now coronavirus free. Both patients have fully recovered and have tested negative. There are no fresh cases of the virus in the state. This has been possible because of the cooperation of the public and medical staff and the strict enforcement of lockdown restrictions,” he tweeted.
Manipur, as well as the region’s first Covid-19 patient, was a 23-year-old girl, who had tested positive in March upon her return from the United Kingdom (UK). She was discharged from the hospital on April 12 after she recovered from the viral infection, the CM said.
On Sunday, the second patient from Manipur, a 65-year-old man, who returned to the state after attending the Tablighi Jamaat’s international congregation held at Nizamuddin in Delhi between March 13 and 15, was also declared to have recovered.
The region’s other states, which have recorded fewer cases in comparison to most parts of the country, are also announcing the recovery of their patients.
{{/usCountry}}The region’s other states, which have recorded fewer cases in comparison to most parts of the country, are also announcing the recovery of their patients.
{{/usCountry}}The seven states from the Northeast, excluding Sikkim, have reported 52 Covid-19 positive cases to date. Assam topped the list with 35 cases, followed by Meghalaya at 11. Currently, Assam has 15 active cases and has also reported one death, a Jamaat follower.
“The lone Covid-19 positive person of Arunachal Pradesh has now been declared virus-free,” state CM Pema Khandu tweeted last Friday.
“The process of discharging patients would continue and by the end of April we hope to release all Covid-19 patients from our hospitals,” Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday. Around 82% of cases in Assam are asymptomatic, the minister said. “Earlier, we were collecting only throat swabs for tests, but now on we will be taking both throat and nasal swabs to ensure that there is better monitoring,” Sarma said.
Assam is also planning to use rapid testing kits in government-run hospitals to ensure that there is faster detection of cases after the kits are made available. The state has tested over 4,800 samples and the rate of testing has been 120 people per million.
Tripura had recorded two Covid-19 positive cases and last week one of them -- a 45-year-old woman with a travel history to Guwahati -- was discharged from hospital. The other patient, a Tripura State Rifles jawan, is recovering well and is likely to be discharged soon.
Mizoram was the second state in the region to record a Covid-19 case when a 50-year-old pastor, who had travelled to the Netherlands, tested Covid-19 positive on March 24, a day after the first case from the region in Manipur was reported.
“There is good news, as there is considerable improvement in the patient. He has no fever and we hope that he will fully recover within a few days,” Mizoram health minister R Lalthangliana told HT over the phone from the state capital Aizawl.
Nagaland has a unique distinction of its lone patient getting transferred to Assam’s tally. The 33-year-old Dimapur-based businessman was first listed in Nagaland’s tally but later transferred to Assam, as he tested Covid-19 positive in Guwahati.
Meghalaya was the last state in the region to record a Covid-19 positive case after a 69-year-old doctor from the state capital, Shillong, contracted SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease, on April 13. Though the doctor died later, 10 people, including his family members and assistants, have tested Covid-19 positive. These are the only Covid-19 active cases in Meghalaya.
Most states in the Northeast had sealed their interstate borders and also with neighbouring Bangladesh and Myanmar prior to the Central government’s move to initially implement a 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 outbreak from March 25 and further extend it by another 19 days till May 3.