11 Nagaland returnees test Covid-19 positive; total rises to 38

Guwahati: Eleven more persons from Nagaland, all returnees from Chennai who were stranded amid lockdown, have tested Covid-19 positive today, taking the tally of cases to 36. "9 are male and 2 are female. All are returnees from Chennai tested Covid-19 positive; 8 are from Dimapur and 3 are from Kohima", Nagaland Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom informed on Twitter.

Post the return of citizens who were stranded in other states, there has been a sudden spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in Nagaland. Yesterday, 7 fresh Covid-19 were detected, taking the tally in the state upto 25. Confirming this through subsequent tweets, Nagaland Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom informed that of the 7 fresh cases, 2 are from Dimapur, 4 are from Kohima, and a single case is from Tuensang district.

It may be recalled here that Nagaland reported its first cases of the virus on Tuesday, May 26, after three persons who had returned from Chennai tested positive. Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio in a tweet said: "Unfortunately, two persons in Dimapur and one in Kohima have been tested positive for COVID-19. Please do not panic. We need to handle it with utmost care and responsibility. Necessary action of contact tracing and containment measures are being taken and situation closely monitored." Since then, controversy has erupted in the district amid reports that the returnees are being sent to their own districts before their results are out.

India reported the biggest single-day jump in the number of new coronavirus patients and deaths linked to the highly infectious illness with 7,964 fresh cases and 265 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, which brings the total to 1,73,763 cases.

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