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Not just Assam, other NE states witness spike in Covid-19 cases as people return to region
Assam, the most populous state in the region, has recorded nearly 1,500 cases, while the other smaller or less populated states have registered a significant spike over the past few days.
The seven states in the northeast recorded relatively fewer Covid-19 cases till late April, but are now witnessing a sudden surge following the easing of restrictions on inter-state travel, with the region’s tally racing past 2,100 cases.
Assam, the most populous state in the region, has recorded nearly 1,500 cases, while the other smaller or less populated states have registered a significant spike over the past few days. The lifting of a ban on inter-state movement on May 4 is believed to be the prime factor for the jump in cases.
The first case in the region was detected on March 24, when a 23-year-old woman who returned from the UK tested positive in Manipur. On May 5, the figure for the entire region was just 103 cases. The total population of the region is more than 45 million.
On May 5, Assam had 44 positive cases, one death, 32 recoveries and 11 people under treatment. Four weeks later, on June 1, the state’s tally stood at 1,486 cases, four deaths, 285 recoveries and 1,194 people under treatment. The total cases included 1,337 people who had returned to state since May 4.
“The surge in positive cases is because of the homecoming of our residents from other states. Nearly 800 of the new cases are those of people who returned from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Delhi,” Assam’s health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday.
Tripura recorded its biggest one-day spike on Monday, when 107 people tested positive, taking the state’s tally to 421 cases. Of the total, 166 were Border Security Force (BSF) personnel from two battalions based in the state and their family members. On May 5, the state had just 42 cases.
On Tuesday morning, Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga Tweeted about 12 new cases in the state, including 10 people who had returned from Delhi and two from Kolkata.
The state had recorded just one case prior to this, of a 50-year-old pastor who was found positive on March 24 and recovered by May 9.
Nagaland recorded six new cases on Tuesday morning, taking the state’s total to 49. The state’s first Covid-19 cases were detected on May 25, when three people who returned on a Shramik Special train from Chennai tested positive.
Meghalaya had 13 Covid-19 cases till May 5, all of them connected to a family in the state capital Shillong in the East Khasi Hills. Two weeks later, a person who returned from Chennai tested positive in the Garo Hills, the first Covid-19 patient in the region. The state’s tally now stands at 28.
With both its first two positive cases recovering, Manipur didn’t have an active Covid-19 case as of May 5. But the status changed 10 days later, with the detection of an infection. The state now has 83 cases with 11 recoveries and no deaths.
Arunachal Pradesh was Covid-19 free as of May 5, with the lone patient in the state recovering the previous month. But with the return of the state’s residents from other parts of the country, the figures started increasing. On Monday, the state recorded 16 new cases, taking its tally to 22.
