Coronavirus positive case rises to 20 in Northeast region: officials

GUWAHATI/AGARTALA: With more positive coronavirus cases getting reported from the Northeast region, the total number of cases in the entire region went up to 20 on Thursday, officials said.

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said 16 persons have been tested positive out of which 8 are from Golaghat, 3 each from Goalpara and Nalbari and one each from Silchar and Nalbari.

Of the 20 positive cases, 18 took part in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi while a Manipuri girl and a Mizoram man had tested positive last month after they returned from the UK and the Netherlands, respectively.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said in a tweet that one more positive case has been detected on Thursday, taking the State’s tally to two.

According to an official release by Manipur’s DIPR, a 65-year-old man from Lilong has tested positive and is undergoing treatment now at the Regional Institute of Medical Science in Imphal.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said in a tweet that a 31-year-old non-Arunachalee man, who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, has tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the first COVID-19 patient in the State.

“At present, he is asymptomatic and has been kept in isolation. His condition is stable,” the Chief Minister said.

According to the Ministers and officials of the north-eastern States, over 500 people from several of these States, mostly from Assam, had either attended or were in vicinity of the Tablighi congregation, forcing all seven States to launch an all-out search to identify and test these persons.

The attendees’ family members and the people they came in close contact with are also being examined or sent to quarantine.

In Tripura, the nodal officer for COVID-19, Deep Debbarma, said that swab samples of 33 people comprising those from the State who had attended the Tablighi meet or had been to the Nizamuddin area, including their family members, have tested negative.

In Imphal, Manipur Director General of Police LM Khaute asked the attendees from the State or those who even stayed in vicinity of the meeting venue or passed near it should get themselves tested at the nearest government hospital, warning of legal action otherwise.

Seven people from Meghalaya attended the Tablighi religious congregation, the Shillong Markaz informed the police, saying they have not yet returned.

“It is confirmed that five are currently in Delhi and two are in Lucknow. The same has been conveyed to the police of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh,” Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said in a tweet.

In Nagaland, media reports said that some persons from Nagaland had either attended or were in the vicinity of the congregation venue in Delhi. The officials of the Health and Family Welfare Department along with the district administrations and the police have begun the process of tracking them down.

Three north-eastern States — Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura — are yet to report any positive coronavirus case. (IANS)

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