Nagaland’s weekly Covid-19 cases drop for 4 consecutive weeks

Only one death out of 375 had been fully vaccinated and two weeks had passed after the second dose

Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, June 19 (EMN): The number of Covid-19 cases continues to decrease in Nagaland for four consecutive weeks and deaths for three weeks with marked decline especially in Dimapur and Kohima, but the Health department has warned that the next wave of pandemic could come if the people let their guard down.

The state recorded 631 new Covid cases in the past week ending June 18, a noticeable decline from the previous week’s 1079 fresh infections (-38% decline) and weekly high of 2062 reported between May 15 and 21. Only Peren showed an increase in cases last week, according to the data provided by the Health department. 

It added that 22 deaths in the past week, against 29 in the previous week and highest weekly casualties of 84 reported between May 21 and 28.

The state’s sample positivity rate has also dipped below 10% for the first time in eight weeks, a decrease from 23% at the start of the lockdown to 8% (out of 7,424 samples) with only Kohima, Kiphire and Mokokchung having a rate of 10% or more. 

An approximate 32% of eligible beneficiaries in the state have received the first dose of vaccine so far and 63,586 doses were administered in the past week, which was the highest in a single week.

“Covid-19 will come in waves as and when there is lax of human behaviours. Mask wearing, physical distancing, avoiding crowds and taking maximum care in closed spaces should be strictly continued. Utmost care has to be taken until at least 90% of eligible beneficiaries receive the vaccine considering the fact that children cannot be vaccinated as of now,” read the bulletin.

Vaccine effectiveness in real time

The Health department said that out of 375 Covid-19 deaths in the state from Feb. 2021 till date (ending June 18), only one had been fully vaccinated and two weeks had passed after the second dose. “There was another death after 2 doses but death happened before 2 weeks of vaccination. 99.7% of deaths after February have not been fully vaccinated,” it added.

“The vaccine also provides very significant protection even by one dose after two weeks of vaccination,” it said, adding that though positivity after two weeks of second dose are happening, “the vaccine is very effective against severe and deaths as demonstrated by clinical trials and in real time”.

“No active healthcare worker in Covid-19 hospitals have succumbed to the virus despite them being at the highest risk of exposure as most healthcare workers have been fully vaccinated,” it added.

The department went on to say that the armed forces and security personnel, who constituted about 39% of all confirmed cases in the state in 2020, showed a marked decline as they were the first to be vaccinated in huge numbers.

“In 2021, security personnel constitute only 5% of confirmed cases – an indicator that Covid-19 vaccines not only prevent severe diseases but also reduce transmission as proven earlier in clinical trials,” it stated.

A total of 3,99,141 (3.99 lakh) doses of vaccine have been administered across the state over 5,939 sessions so far.