Coronavirus in Tripura: 2 more BSF Personnel Test 'Positive'; Tally Rises to 169

Guwahati:

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has confirmed that out of 467 samples which were tested for COVID-19, 2 persons from the 86th Battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF) Ambassa unit in Dhalai district have tested positive for the virus, raising the state tally to 169.

Deb, who informed about this latest development via a late night tweet, has informed that the patients are under "proper medical care." Meanwhile, 85 patients have recovered from the virus in the state.

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and health officials in Manipur attributed the rise in corona cases to the return of people to their homes in the region. In Tripura, the rise is due to infections among the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel of two battalions (86th and 138th) and their family members.

Manipur had reported its first case of coronavirus on March 24 when a 23-year-old woman who returned from the UK tested positive, making it the first case in the northeast region, which is home to only four per cent of the country's population. All the latest five coronavirus-infected people, including three women, returned to Manipur from Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

With no positive case reported from Sikkim and Nagaland, two other north-eastern States — Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram — currently have no active cases as two patients, one each in two States, have recovered and discharged from the hospitals. Yesterday, Meghalaya too had become free from the coronavirus after the 13th and last patient finally tested negative for the virus.

It may be mentioned here that, the lone corona patient from Nagaland, a trader, who had been admitted to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on April 12 after he tested positive. The patient was released from the GMCH earlier this month after he recovered from the dreaded virus. However, the records kept by the state administration make no mention of the patient.