Arunachal Pradesh reports record single-day surge of 91 Covid cases, tally now 949

Itanagar, July 23 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh reported its highest single-day spike of 91 Covid-19 cases, taking the northeastern state's tally to 949 on Thursday, a senior Health Department official said. Thirty-one of the fresh cases were reported in the Capital Complex region which is locked down, while 15 were detected in East Siang, 13 in Tirap, 10 in West Siang and seven in Namsai.

Papum Pare, Longding and Lower Dibang Valley reported three cases each, West Kameng and Upper Siangbesides two each, and Kamle and Lower Siang one each, State Surveillance Officer Dr L Jampa said.

The state had registered its previous highest single-day surge on July 20 when 90 people tested positive for coronavirus.

Kamle district has reported its first Covid-19 case.

Of the 31 fresh cases reported in the Capital Complex comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa, 28 were detected through RTD-antigen tests while three were through RT-PCR test, Dr Jampa said.

Twelve new patients in East Siang district have returned from other states and are in quarantine centres, while two are drivers deployed in essential services and one is a health care worker, he said.

In Longding district, the three fresh cases include two people who have returned from Assam.

Of the three cases reported from Lower Dibang Valley district, two are returnees from Assam and one a health care worker. All the cases were detected from quarantine centres, Dr Jampa said.

Five of the newly infected persons in Namsai district were detected in quarantine centres, while two are primary contacts of a positive case detected earlier, he said.

Of the two cases in West Kameng district, one is an army personnel and another a health care worker.

On Wednesday, 11 patients were discharged after they recovered from the disease.

They were advised strict home quarantine and self-monitoring for two weeks, Dr Jampa added.

The Capital Complex administration and the Papum Pare district authorities have declared several areas and buildings as containment zones in the wake of the sudden surge in Covid-19 cases. The Capital Complex region has recorded the highest 378 Covid-19 cases in the state.

Arunachal Pradesh at present has 632 active coronavirus cases. While 314 people have recovered from the disease, three have died.

A total of 44,986 samples have been tested in the state so far, he said.

The state witnessed a surge in Covid-19 cases since July 1 with 758 cases reported in the last 23 days, Dr Jampa said, adding that the Covid-19 recovery rate in the state stands at 35 per cent.