E-Paper
With return of stranded people, Covid-19 cases in NE double from 200 to 400 in 11 days
The first Covid-19 positive case in the region was reported in Manipur on March 24. It took 24 days for Covid-19 active cases in the region to reach 50 and another 18 days to go past 100 on May 4.
The north-east’s (NE) overall tally of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive cases rose to 403 till Thursday morning amid growing fears of a spike due to the influx of thousands of stranded migrants, who are returning to their native places, amid the easing of lockdown restrictions.
It took 11 days for the figure to double from 200 Covid-19 cases on May 9.
The first Covid-19 positive case in the region was reported in Manipur on March 24. It took 24 days for Covid-19 active cases in the region to reach 50 and another 18 days to go past 100 on May 4.
While Covid-19 positive cases are stagnant in some of the states, both Assam and Tripura have reported a spike, which has led to a rise in the region’s overall tally.
Assam has reported 190 Covid-19 positive cases till Thursday morning. So far, four Covid-19 related deaths have been reported from the state, along with 49 recoveries, 134 still undergoing treatment in various hospitals and three migrants, who were afflicted with SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease, have returned to their native places in other states.
“Assam has received 74,118 people travelling back through all means of transportation, while 17,488 persons have left the state over the last fortnight,” GP Singh, additional director general of police (ADGP) (law and order), Assam, tweeted on Tuesday.
Around 110 of the total Covid-19 positive cases in Assam have been reported among people who either returned after May 4 or those who came in contact with those who have come back.
Tripura has reported 173 Covid-19 positive cases to date. On Wednesday, four persons, who recently returned from Chennai, tested Covid-19 positive. But in Tripura, 160 cases have been reported from three Border Security Force (BSF) battalions posted in Dhalai district.
Tripura has not recorded any Covid-19 related fatality and 116 patients have recovered so far.
While in Manipur, the count has gone up to 25, as 16 people tested positive on Wednesday. So far, two persons have recovered. The new cases were reported only among migrants, who returned to Manipur recently.
Meghalaya, too, reported a fresh case on Tuesday after a 33-year-old woman, who returned from Chennai a day ago, tested positive. The state has reported 14 cases, including one death and another undergoing treatment.
Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have no active cases and Nagaland is the only state that has not reported a single case of the viral outbreak so far.
According to the Guwahati-headquartered Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), 13 Shramik Special trains till Tuesday ferried 17,000 people, mainly migrant workers, students, and patients, from the rest of the country to the region.
(With inputs from Priyanka Deb Barman and Sobhapati Samom)
