11 returnees test COVID-19 positive in Nagaland, tally reaches 36

Eleven people who returned to Nagaland from Chennai have tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday, raising the total number of active cases in the state to 36, Health and Family Welfare minister S Pangnyu Phom said.

Nagaland had remained COVID-19-free till Monday when three returnees from Chennai tested positive for the virus.

However, the state government has not counted a person from Nagaland who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 13 in Assam after a private hospital referred him to a government facility in Guwahati. He later recovered from the disease.

"Eleven persons, 8 from Dimapur and 3 in Kohima, all returnees from Chennai tested COVID-19 positive today (Saturday)," the minister said.

All of them had returned from Chennai on May 22 by a Shramik Special train.

The train brought back 1,328 residents of the state, who were stranded in different parts of Tamil Nadu due to the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the virus.

Of the 36 patients undergoing treatment at various COVID-19-dedicated hospitals in the state, 22 are in Dimapur, 9 in Kohima and five in Tuensang.

The patients are mostly below 30 years of age, officials said.

When asked about the course of action to be taken by the government with the fourth phase of lockdown ending on Sunday, and the continuous increase of COVID-19 cases in the state following the arrival of returnees, the minister said, "The Nagaland government will discuss the matter during a Cabinet meeting on Monday."

Altogether 4,607 stranded citizens have reached Nagaland till date while more are expected to reach in the coming days, according to data provided by the Control Room of Empowered Group on COVID-19, Dimapur.

As per updates of the health department on Friday, the state has 12 COVID-19 hospitals with two in Kohima and one each in rest of the districts.

There are 464 general beds in the COVID-19 hospitals and 68 ICU beds with 34 ventilators, it said.

The state has also made separate arrangements for 385 beds in the isolation wards of the COVID-19 hospitals.

The government has set up 1,035 quarantine centres with 5,771 beds and hotels have also been earmarked as paid quarantine centers. Many villages and churches have set up quarantine centres to take care of people who are returning to the state.