Mizoram crossed one lakh Covid cases yesterday, with 1,471 people testing positive.
Aizawl:
A four-member central team reached out to the COVID-19 situation in Mizoram amid a worrying rise in infections in the northeastern state. Mizoram crossed one lakh Covid cases yesterday, with 1,471 people testing positive for the virus. The positivity rate in Mizoram is 15.36 per cent and this is a major cause of concern in the state with a total population of over 11 lakhs.
The central team led by Dr Vinita Gupta, consultant-epidemiologist of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), reached the state capital Aizawl on Tuesday. So far, 65 percent of the total cases in the state have been reported in Aizawl. The central team held a review meeting with the chief medical officers of all the 11 districts on Wednesday.
To deal with the sudden rise in COVID cases, the state-level expert team on COVID-19 management has underscored the importance of focusing more on symptomatic patients and high-risk patients including pregnant women, elderly and people with comorbidities.
Although Mizoram has one of the lowest mortality rates in the country – 0.33 per cent against the national average of 1.33 per cent, the state’s low recovery rate of 84.40 per cent against the national average of 97.94 per cent is worrying.
Another cause for alarm is the number of active cases which currently stands at 15,006 cases.
A state-level expert team, headed by Dr F Lalianhalira, has submitted a report to the government seeking amendments to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for COVID testing and home isolation.
Despite the spike in cases, Mizoram last week issued new COVID-19 guidelines allowing churches to reopen twice a week- Saturday and Sunday- with 50 per cent seating capacity a day. Additionally, public parks, social and public gatherings have also been allowed to reopen with 50 per cent attendance.
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