Meghalaya COVID-19: one more tests positive

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 2, 2020

A returnee from Assam has been tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday taking the total number of active cases in the state to 12.

Informing this, Health Minister AL Hek told reporters that the patient is an employee of a resort in Assam, who has returned to Khanapara in Ri Bhoi district.

“He was first tested positive in Assam. However, on his arrival in the state, test was again conducted and it was also found to be positive. We will inform our counterpart that the patient has been counted in Meghalaya,” Hek said.

According to him, contact tracing has been done and samples of the high risk contacts of the latest patient have also been collected and sent for testing, the results of which are awaited.

He said the state now has a total of 12 active cases which include 6 (5 males & 1 female) in BSF camp at Umpling Shillong, 2 Ri Bhoi, 2 South West Garo Hills, 1 East Jaintia Hills and 1 West Garo Hills.

With the recovery of an army of the Assam regiment, who was earlier tested positive for COVID-19, on Thursday, the minister said altogether 43 of 56 positive cases recorded have recovered and 1 died in the state.

He further informed that a total of 19,679 of 19,994 samples sent for testing, were found to be negative while test results of 260 are awaited.

Asked, Hek said that a total of 16 high risk contacts have been infected by COVID-19 ever since the first positive case was reported in April, this year.

Meanwhile, RT-PCR test has been conducted on over 19,414 people who returned to the state from different parts of the country and abroad.  Hek informed that the total expenditure incurred by the government in providing free testing comes to around Rs 6 crore.