Highest single-day spike of 91 corona cases in Arunachal Pradesh

* State's tally surges to 949 * Majority are returness & also uniformed personnel

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh reported its highest single-day spike of 91 COVID-19 cases, taking the State's tally to 949 on Thursday. While 31 of the fresh cases were reported in the Capital Complex region which is now under lockdown, 15 were detected in East Siang, 13 in Tirap, 10 in West Siang and seven in Namsai. The districts of Papum Pare, Longding and Lower Dibang Valley reported three cases each followed by West Kameng and Upper Siang with two each; Kamle and Lower Siang with one each, said State Surveillance Officer Dr L Jampa said.

The State had registered its previous highest single-day surge on July 20 when 90 people tested positive for coronavirus. Kamle district has reported its first COVID-19 case. Of the 31 fresh cases reported in the Capital Complex comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa, 28 were detected through RTD-antigen tests while three were through RT-PCR tests.

A total of 12 new patients in East Siang district were returnees from other States and are in quarantine centres, while two are drivers deployed in essential services, one is a Healthcare worker. In Longding district, the three fresh cases include two persons who had returned from Assam. Of the three cases from Lower Dibang Valley district, two are returnees from Assam and one is a Healthcare worker. All the cases were detected from quarantine centres. While five of the newly-infected persons in Namsai district were detected in quarantine centres, two are primary contacts of a positive case detected earlier. Of the two cases in West Kameng district, one is an Army personnel and the other a Healthcare worker.

On Wednesday, 11 patients were discharged after they recovered from the disease. They were advised strict home quarantine and self-monitoring for two weeks, Dr Jampa added.

Arunachal Pradesh at present has 632 active coronavirus cases. While 314 people have recovered from the disease, three have died. A total of 44,986 samples have been tested in the State so far, he said.

The Capital Complex administration and the Papum Pare district authorities have declared several areas and buildings as containment zones in the wake of the sudden surge in cases. The Capital Complex region has recorded the highest number of 378 cases.

The State has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases since July 1, with 758 cases reported in the last 23 days, Dr Jampa said, adding that the recovery rate in the state stands at 35 per cent.

The State remained virus-free till May 23. It witnessed a spurt in Covid-19 cases after residents of the state started returning from other parts of the country.