Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 24
There was a relative decline in COVID-19 case detection in Nagaland during the week (July 17-23). Nagaland clocked 640 cases, a decline of 7 % from the previous week’s 689 cases.
The week’s caseload included 277 random/self test, 242 traced contacts, 57 security forces personnel, 48 travelers and 16 frontline workers.
The decline in detection was overshadowed by recoveries further plummeting— 427 as opposed to the previous week’s 558.
District-wise, Dimapur reported 214 fresh cases, which was the highest weekly case total for the district in 7 weeks. The last time Dimapur reported 200-plus cases in a week, was in between May 29-June 4 when the district reported 396 cases.
Other district which reported more cases than the previous week were Wokha, Longleng, Phek and Peren.
The weekly tally in Kohima was 221 and 69 in Mokokchung, while the tally in other districts was below 50.
Only one district touched the 3-figure mark in terms of recovery. Kohima reported 101, Mokokchung- 92, Dimapur- 89, Wokha- 30, Tuensang- 26, Longleng- 21, Zunheboto- 19, Mon- 18, Peren- 15 and 8 each in Phek and Kiphire.
Across the country, 22.8 lakh new cases and 6,379 COVID-19 deaths were reported in the last 7 days with a positivity rate of 2.2 %.
Fatalities rose to 18 with 9 reported from Dimapur, 6 in Kohima and 3 in Mokokchung. The case fatality rate stood at 1.9 %, well above the national average of 1.3 %. “Diabetes and Hypertension remain the most common associated co-morbidities among COVID-19 deaths in the state,” reiterated the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) in its weekly COVID roundup.
Increased positivity in districts: While the weekly sample positivity rate was at 7.6 %, increased positivity was observed in 5 districts.
The IDSP noted, “Kohima, Longleng and Wokha reported weekly sample positivity rate of more than 10 %.”
Dimapur witnessed a two-fold jump in positivity, increasing to 8 % from the previous week’s 4 %. It increased to 14 % in Longleng, to 12 % in Wokha, to 4 % in Peren and Phek.
Meanwhile, hospital admissions of COVID cases have remained consistent. As per the IDSP, “New admissions in COVID-19 hospitals are not declining for the last 5 weeks especially in Dimapur and Kohima. This could mean more undetected cases circulating in the community.” There were 80 hospital admissions across the state during the week.
Vaccine: 69,599 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered during the past week taking the total doses to 7.29 lakh, as on July 23. The number of people, who have taken the second shot rose to 1,37,013.
Contrary to misconceived fear regarding vaccination, the IDSP said, “While almost all COVID-19 vaccines have shown more than 90 % effectiveness against severe disease and death, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown COVID-19 vaccines reduces transmission within the household by 40-60 %.”
While stating that vaccination and wearing mask is very effective in reducing transmission, it asserted, “It is only logical that people in high-risk settings like Hospitals, Offices and Schools are vaccinated at the earliest for the safety of patients, colleagues and students.”
Citing the Centre for Disease Control, USA, the IDSP said that the 99 % of COVID-19 deaths in the USA in the last 6 months were unvaccinated, adding, “The USA is reporting a 53 % increase in new infections and a 19 % increase in deaths mostly from areas with low vaccination coverage as per the report.”
