16 tested positive for COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: In the highest-ever spike recorded in a single day in Arunachal Pradesh, 16 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in the northeastern State on Monday, a senior government official said.

While one of the positive cases reported during the day was from Namsai district, is a 26-year-old student who returned to the state from Chennai in a Sharmik Special Train on May 23 last, another student is a returnee from Delhi and the other 14 returned from Haryana, Health Secretary P Parthiban informed.

All of them came from Delhi in a Shramik Special train. Among the 15 returnees from Delhi, 14 were workers, he said.

With the reported cases, the total number of active cases in the state rose to 19.

All the 16 persons infected with the virus, are asymptomatic and were kept in institutional quarantine. They have been shifted to Covid Care Centre immediately after their test results were found to be positive, the health secretary said.

Among the 16 persons tested positive on Monday, 14 are from Changlang district who are workers, while one is a student from Tawang and another student from Namsai, State Surveillance Officer (Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme) Dr L Jampa said in a statement.

Taking to tweeter Chief Minister Pema Khandu said, "Rise in Positive #Covid19, 15 more positive cases detected, all are in quarantine facilities being shifted to Covid Care Centre. Total Positive Active as of now is 19."

Arunachal Pradesh, which was declared Covid-19 free over a month ago, reported a fresh case on May 24 last after a 30-year-old student who recently returned from Delhi tested positive.

Another student, a 19-year-old student who returned from Chennai on May 24 last by a train was also tested positive on May 27.

The third positive case was detected on Sunday after a case after a 12-year-old student, who recently returned to the state from Delhi in a bus, tested positive for the disease.

The student, who hails from Upper Siang district, had returned on May 25 to the state along with a group of students and was placed under institutional quarantine

The northeastern state was declared COVID-19 free after the state's lone patient recovered and was discharged from hospital on April 16.

The 31-year-old man was from Medo area in Lohit district and had attended a religious congregation at Nizamuddin in Delhi in March. He reached Medo on March 18 and tested positive on April 2. He was kept in Tezu Zonal Hospital in an isolation ward.