Mizoram reports first Covid-19 death amid week-long lockdown at Aizawl

Mizoram reported first Covid-19 related death on Wednesday after a 62-year-old man succumbed to the virus amid the "Covid-19 no tolerance fortnight" and the week-long lockdown in the state capital Aizawl.

"The first Covid-19 related mortality in Mizoram comes as a huge shock to the entire state. The 62-year-old man was with existing co-morbidity and was under treatment at Zoram Medical College for more than 10 days," said Mizoram's department of information and public relations.

Mizoram, the tiny hill state with a population of a little over 11 lakh reported 2,607 Covid-19 positive cases so far of which 374 are still active. But the state did not report a Covid-19 related death till Tuesday.

Follow the state-wise tally of Covid-19 cases, deaths

The state government along with civil society organisations have enforced the Covid-19 safety protocols very strictly to keep its record of zero mortality intact but the first death came as a shock.

This comes when the state government imposed complete lockdown on Monday for a week at Aizawl after the state capital witnessed several fresh cases in the past few days. The health department along with police have been strictly enforcing the lockdown and safety protocols as part of the "Covid-19 no tolerance fortnight" being observed across Mizoram from Monday.

Chief Minister Zoramthanga said the new complete lockdown was imposed at Aizawl in order to break the chain and to facilitate intesive contact tracing, surveilance and testing.

"We are shocked, pained but will continue to put up strong guards against this pandemic," Zoramthanga tweeted after the first Covid-19 related death on Wednesday.