Meghalaya: 8 health workers among 17 new COVID-19 cases

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 8, 2020

Seventeen more persons, including eight health workers, tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. With this, the total number of active cases in the state has gone up to 594.

Director of Health Services (MI), Dr Aman War said of the 17 new cases, 12 are from East Khasi Hills district, 3 from West Garo Hills district and 2 from North Garo Hills district.

Dr War also informed that as many as 34 health workers have been infected by COVID-19 so far in East Khasi District alone of which eight have been detected today.

He said seven health workers are from the Reid Chest TB hospital, Shillong and a newly recruited health worker from North Garo Hills.

The other five patients are from different areas and localities in and around Shillong, three are Border Security Force (BSF) troopers from West Garo Hills and a returnee from Assam in North Garo Hills.

Asked, Dr War said that the health department is on the job to find out from where the 7 health workers at the Reid Chest TB hospital had contracted the virus and contact tracing has already started. According to him, the hospital at present is having 10 COVID-19 patients.

“We have to investigate the matter to find out whether the source (of the infection) is from among the health workers (in the hospital) or from outside,” he said.

He further informed that the other five cases are contacts of a driver from Siliguri, who was tested positive for COVID-19 on entering the state recently.

Of the 594 active cases in the state, Dr War informed that East Khasi Hills has 453 cases that include 255 civilians, 142 BSF troopers and 66 armed forces personnel, 65 from Ri Bhoi, 31 from West Garo Hills, 18 from East Jaintia Hills, 15 from West Jaintia Hills, 6 from West Khasi Hills, 2 from South West Garo Hills, 2 from South Garo Hills and 2 from North Garo Hills.

The Director also informed that 12 patients have also recovered today, taking the total recoveries in the state to 423. The new recovered cases include 3 civilians and 1 BSF jawan in East Khasi Hills, 7 in Ri Bhoi and 1 in West Jaintia Hills.

The state has so far registered a total of 1023 positive cases including 6 deaths after a 45-year-old man passed away at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) hospital, yesterday.

As of Saturday, a total of 40,700 samples have been sent for testing, of which 39,294 were found to be negative while test results of 383 are awaited. There are 26,286 entrants from outside.