81 fresh COVID-19 cases in Arunachal; count rises to 1,239

Itanagar, July 28 (PTI): Eighty-one more people, including 14 BRTF and two Assam Rifles personnel, have tested positive for COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, taking the northeastern state''s caseload to 1,239 on Tuesday, a senior health official said.

Fifty-one new cases were reported in the Capital Complex region, 12 in Tawang district, nine in Changlang, four in Tirap, two in West Siang and one each in Lohit, Lower Dibang Valley and Upper Siang districts, State Surveillance Officer, Dr L Jampa, said.

All the fresh infections in the Capital Complex region were detected during rapid antigen tests, while 12 new cases in Tawang district are Border Roads Task Force (BRFT) personnel, he said.

The two new cases in Lower Dibang Valley and Upper Siang districts are also BRTF personnel, Jampa said.

Two of the nine fresh cases in Changlang district are Assam Rifles personnel, while the remaining patients are government officials and other civilians, he added.

The infected persons in Tirap, West Siang and Lohit districts had returned from other states, Jampa said.

Barring nine, all the new patients are asymptomatic, he said.

Sixty-nine more people, including 47 from the Capital Complex region, have recovered from COVID-19 and were discharged from hospitals on Monday, Jampa said, adding they were advised 14-days strict home quarantine and self-monitoring.

The state had recorded its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases on July 23 when 91 people had tested positive for the infection.

Of the 1,239 cases, 662 are active while 574 people have recovered from the disease and three patients have died, he said.

Arunachal Pradesh witnessed a spurt in coronavirus cases after the residents of the state started returning from other parts of the country.

The state has recently registered a steep rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, with 1,048 people testing positive for the infection since July 1, Jampa said.

Arunachal Pradesh reported its first COVID-19 case on April 2 and the person recovered from the disease on April 16. The state registered its second case on May 24.

The Capital Complex region, comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Banderdewa and Nirjuli areas, has the highest number of active COVID-19 cases at 341, followed by Papum Pare (61), Changlang (41), Namsai (36), East Siang (30), Tirap (28) and Tawang (26), the official said.

The recovery rate among the COVID-19 patients in Arunachal Pradesh is 35 per cent and 63,784 samples have been tested for the disease in the state so far, Jampa added.