26 fresh COVID-19 cases in Arunachal; count rises to 1,698

Itanagar: Twenty-six more people, including two health workers, have tested positive for COVID- 19 in Arunachal Pradesh, taking the northeastern state's virus count to 1,698 on Monday, a senior health official said.

Eight new cases were reported from the Capital Complex region, six from Lohit district, four from East Siang, three from West Kameng, two from East Kameng and one each from Leparada, Lower Dibang Valley and Changlang districts, State Surveillance Officer, Dr L Jampa, said.

Two health workers from East Siang district are among the new patients, he said.

Barring four, all the new patients are asymptomatic and they have been shifted to COVID-19 care centres, Jampa said.

Twenty-seven more people have recovered from COVID-19 and were discharged from hospitals on Sunday, he said.

Arunachal Pradesh now has 699 active cases, while 996 people have recovered from the disease and three died of it.

The Capital Complex region, comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa areas, has the highest number of active COVID-19 cases at 253, followed by Changlang (122), Tirap (42), East Siang (38), East Kameng (37), Namsai (36) and Tawang (32), the official said.

Arunachal Pradesh witnessed a spurt in coronavirus cases after the residents of the state started returning from other parts of the country during the nationwide lockdown.

A total of 1,483 people have tested positive for the infection in July, Jampa said.

The northeastern state is witnessing an increasing trend in the recovery rate since July 15. It stands at 60 per cent at present, he said.

"A total of 851 people have recovered from the disease from July 15 till date, while 1,313 new cases were detected during the period. This is a good sign for the state," Jampa said.

The state government has so far tested 89,031 samples for COVID-19, including 2,743 on Sunday, he said.

Arunachal Pradesh reported its first COVID-19 case on April 2 and the patient recovered from the disease on April 16. The state registered its second case on May 24.