Central team to visit Mizoram soon amid rising Covid-19 cases — Official

Aizawl, Oct. 1 (PTI): A central team of health experts will soon visit Mizoram, which has been witnessing a spurt in Covid-19 cases, an official said on Friday.

During a meeting with a state delegation led by Lok Sabha member C Lalrosanga on Thursday, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan assured that a group of experts will be sent by the Centre to assess the Covid situation, he said.

At least 21,074 cases were reported in August, while September witnessed 34,263 new infections, according to the state health department.

The state recorded 1,655 cases in April, 6,268 in May, 8,093 in June and 18,433 in July, it said.

Notably, a central team comprising a representative from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and an expert from the National Centre for Disease Control had visited Mizoram in September to take stock of the situation, the official said, adding that 8.69 per cent of the state’s population of 10.91 lakh (2011 Census) have already been infected with Covid-19.

The Centre has sanctioned Rs 44.38 crore under the Emergency Covid Response Package (ECRP), of which Rs19.94 crore has been released as the first instalment, he said.

The northeastern state on Friday reported 1,170 new Covid-19 cases, 571 less than the previous day, with the tally rising to 94,830.

The single-day positivity rate dipped to 16.83 percent from 18.44 per cent on Thursday.

At least 1,592 people were cured of the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 78,104.

The recovery rate among coronavirus patients is currently at 82.36 percent, which is less than the national average of 97.86 percent, the official said.

The death toll rose to 310 as three more people succumbed to the infection during the period, he said.

Mizoram now has 16,416 active cases.

The state has so far conducted more than 11 lakh sample tests for Covid-19.

Over 6.8 lakh people have been inoculated till Thursday, with 4.42 lakh of them having received both doses of the vaccines, state immunisation officer, Dr. Lalzawmi said.