51 more Covid-19 cases in Arunachal take tally to 2,658

Itanagar, Aug. 16 (PTI): At least 51 more people, including 28 security personnel, have tested positive for Covid-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, raising the state’s tally to 2,658, a senior health department official said on Sunday.

Barring two, all of them are asymptomatic, he said.

Twenty-three people were discharged from various hospitals in the state, pushing the number of recoveries to 1,771, the official said.

Of the 51 new cases, three were reported from the Capital Complex region, 17 from West Kameng, eight from Upper Subansiri, five from West Siang, three each from Changlang and Papumpare, two each from Lohit, East Siang, Namsai and East Kameng districts and one each from Tawang, Tirap, Upper Siang and Lower Dibang Valley, he said.

State Surveillance officer Dr. L Jampa said, “Twenty- eight paramilitary personnel — 15 in West Kameng, three each in Upper Subansiri, West Siang and Changlang and two each in East Siang and Namsai — are among the new patients.”

A total of 1,176 people, including 534 security personnel, have tested positive for the infection in the state since August 1, the official said.

Arunachal Pradesh, which reported its first Covid-19 case on April 2, has 882 active patients at present. Five people have succumbed to the infection thus far.

West Kameng district has the highest number of active cases at 126, followed by 107 the Capital Complex region, comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa areas, 105 in East Kameng, 94 in Lohit, 81 in East Siang and 79 in Namsai, the surveillance officer said. As many as 1,483 samples were tested for Covid-19 on Saturday, taking the number of such examinations in the state to 1,22,854, he added.