47 new COVID-19 cases reported in Meghalaya, tally rises to 236

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 11, 2020

Coronavirus cases in the state touched 236 on Saturday, after 47 more persons were tested positive for the virus.

Health Minister Alexander L Hek told reporters that of the new cases reported today 30 are from the Border Security Force (BSF) and 17 are civilians.

“With this, the state now has a total of 236 active cases while 45 patients have recovered from the infection,” he said.

Shillong (East Khasi Hills District) has the highest number of active cases at 205 which include 159 BSF jawans and 2 Air Force while 20 are in Ri Bhoi District, 9 in West Garo Hill District and 2 in East Jaintia Hills District.

The state so far has recorded 289 positive cases including 2 fatalities.

Hek informed that a total of 23,454 samples were sent for testing of which 22,902 were found to be negative while test results of 290 are awaited. He said a total of 21,496 have returned to the state from different parts of the country and abroad.

Earlier, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma informed that 8 of the 17 civilians tested positive are high risk contacts of the two patients, who had attended the wedding party at Greenwood Resort, Assam.

“We have done an extensive contact tracing of the wedding attendees and 8 have come out positive,” he said.

The government had directed the East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Matsiewdor War Nongbri  to file FIR against all 41 people who attended the wedding at Khanapara, Guwahati violating COVID-19 protocol.

Apart from the cases in BSF, health workers in North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) have also tested positive and contact tracing is on.

Asked, the CM said, “There are some staff of the hospital who have tested positive for COVID-19 and contact tracing is still on.”

According to Sangma, almost all the active cases in the state are ‘asymptomatic’. He said that a lot will depend on how the government manages the situation in the next few days while urging the people to refrain from coming out of their homes during the two-day lockdown in Shillong