4 more test positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, total cases rise to 33

Four more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, taking the total number of cases to 33, an official said on Sunday.

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All the four persons had come in contact with a COVID-19 patient and his family in Bambooflat area in south Andaman district, he said.

Last week, a 39-year-old police radio operator had tested positive for COVID-19 in the locality, which has now been declared a hotspot.

Of the total cases reported in the Union Territory, 22 are active now, the official said.

More than 100 samples have been sent to the Regional Medical Research Centre here for tests on Sunday morning, the official said.

It includes the samples of 10 coronavirus patients, whose samples had tested negative in the previous test.

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If the 10 samples test negative again, the persons will be released from the guest house where they have been quarantined, he said.

Till Saturday, a total of 2,741 samples had been sent for tests, and of these, results of 2,617 had come, the official had said.

The health department has so far received 3,800 rapid test kits from the Centre, he said.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration has set up an isolation centre at the GB Pant Hospital with 50 beds, and a total of 961 people are now in quarantine centres, the official said.

The Union Territory administration has adopted the "pool testing" method using less kits for more tests in the fight against novel coronavirus.