Over seven months since the first case was recorded in Mizoram, the state reported its first Covid-19 death on Wednesday.
Mizoram had been the only state (or Union Territory) in the country not to have recorded any Covid-19 fatality since the pandemic struck India earlier this year. “The first Covid-19 mortality in Mizoram comes as a huge shock to the entire state. He was 65-years-old with existing co-morbidities and was under treatment at Zoram Medical College for more than 10 days,” the state’s information and public relations department said.
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The small state with a population of 1,091,000 (2011 census), had recorded 2,607 Covid-19 positive cases and 2,233 recoveries till Wednesday.
“We are shocked, pained and will continue putting up our guards against this pandemic,” Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga tweeted.
Mizoram recorded its first Covid-19 case on March 24, when a 50-year-old pastor who had returned from a trip to Netherlands tested positive. After spending over a month in hospital, he tested negative on April 27.
The state didn’t record any positive case after that till June 2, when 12 new cases were recorded nearly a month after the ban on inter-state movement was lifted on May 4.
When the pandemic started in the country, Mizoram didn’t have a testing laboratory and had to rely on labs in neighbouring states for tests. Now, the state has one RT-PCR lab and another where True-Nat tests are conducted.
{{/usCountry}}When the pandemic started in the country, Mizoram didn’t have a testing laboratory and had to rely on labs in neighbouring states for tests. Now, the state has one RT-PCR lab and another where True-Nat tests are conducted.
{{/usCountry}}Unlike most other states, civil society groups and the church (Mizoram has a Christian population of around 87%) have actively joined hands with the government in ensuring compliance of Covid-related guidelines and helping in tackling the disease.
“We have over 1,000 churches across Mizoram and several of them are being used as quarantine centres,” Rev. K Lalrinmawia, executive secretary of Mizoram Presbyterian Church (MPC), the largest church body in the state told HT recently.