Forty-two more people, including three Army personnel, tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday, taking the tally to 991, the Health Department said.
Of the new cases, 33 were from the Capital Complex, followed by four in Namsai district, three from West Siang and one each from Lower Dibang Valley and Papum Pare, State Surveillance Officer L Jampa said.
There are 654 active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), while 334 people have recovered from the disease and three died of the infection so far
“The recovery rate in the state stands at 35 per cent,” Jampa said, adding that 48,880 samples had been tested so far.
The three fresh patients from West Siang are Army personnel, who had come to the district from Guwahati and were in a quarantine centre. They have been shifted to the Army COVID care centre at Likabali, Jampa said.
The 33 new cases in the Capital Complex, comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa areas, were detected from various parts of the region through antigen tests, while the new patients from Namsai are returnees, the official said.
The patient from Papum Pare district is a local, while the one from Lower Dibang Valley had returned to the state recently and was in a quarantine centre, Jampa said.
“All, barring five, were asymptomatic and shifted to COVID care centres,” he said.
Arunachal Pradesh remained virus-free till May 23 and witnessed a spurt in coronavirus cases after residents of the state started returning from other parts of the country.
There has been a steep rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the state since July 1 as 800 people have so far tested positive for the disease during the current month, Jampa said.
Twenty patients — 15 from the Capital Complex region, three from Changlang and one each from Tirap and Upper Subansiri districts — were discharged from hospitals on Thursday, he said.
The Capital Complex region has recorded the highest 396 COVID-19 cases, followed by Namsai (42), East Siang (39), Papum Pare (27) and Lower Subansiri (21).