Dimapur, Aug. 14 (EMN): Nagaland’s weekly sample positivity rate has come down to 5% from 6% in the previous week after week-on-week Covid-19 cases decreased from 732 to 591.
The department of Health and Family Welfare updated in its weekly bulletin that no district in the state reported more than 10% positivity rate in the past week.
The number of deaths also decreased to 12 in last week ending August 13, against 21 fatalities recorded in the week before.
As many as 69 patients were admitted to the hospital and 13,075 samples were tested in the week which is the highest samples tested in a single week. So far, more than 8 lakh doses of vaccines have been administered, it was informed.
The department also underscored the importance of vaccination to fight the Covid-19, saying that 99% of deaths during the second wave were not fully vaccinated.
It said the percentage of positive cases among the unvaccinated during the second wave was 80%, compared to 13% among those who had taken first dose and 7% who had completed two doses.
According to the department’s weekly bulletin, out of the total 501 deaths in the second wave, 495 (99%) were not fully vaccinated, 449 (90%) hadn’t received even a single dose, 52 (10%) had received one dose, and six (1%) had got two doses.
It went on to say that vaccination reduces risk of death due to the virus by more than 90%.
The department said that unwillingness to test and late admissions in hospitals had cost many lives in the state, citing 40% deaths (193) within 24 hours of admission in the second wave; 14 brought dead; and 31 deaths under home isolation.
It said that three north-eastern states -- Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur – with lowest vaccination coverage have highest death rate.
The Health department stated that measures like stringent adherence to universal masking for staff and students matched by hand hygiene, physical distancing, and adequate ventilation should be taken to safe return to classrooms.
It said vaccination of teachers, non-teaching staff and eligible students should be prioritised and that level of community transmission in a district should be the key parameter to guide reopening (positivity rate < 5%).
It went on to suggest high level of testing and contact tracing within schools as well as classroom routines redesigned to limit student interaction inside and outside the rooms in order to return to classroom learning.