Itanagar, Aug 19 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh reported its highest-single day spike in COVID-19 cases as 133 people, including 29 security personnel, tested positive for the infection on Wednesday, a health official said.
The fresh infections have pushed the state’s caseload to 2,875, he said.
The northeastern state had reported its previous highest-single day spike of 107 COVID-19 cases on August 1.
Of the 133 fresh cases, 65 were reported in Upper Subansiri district, 22 in West Kameng, 16 in the Capital Complex region, eight each in Tirap and Changlang, three in Tawang, two each in Shi-Yomi, East Kameng and Papumpare and one each in Leparada, Siang, West Siang, Namsai and East Siang districts, he said.
“Twenty-nine paramilitary personnel — 17 in West Kameng, six in Changlang, three in Tawang and one each in Shi-Yomi, Leparada and Siang — are among the new patients,” State Surveillance Officer, Dr L Jampa, said.
A health worker from Changlang district has also tested positive for the infection, he said.
Barring 13, all the new patients are asymptomatic and they have been shifted to COVID-19 care centres, Dr Jampa said.
Fifty-five more people have been cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,949, the official said.
Arunachal Pradesh, which had reported its first COVID-19 case on April 2, has 921 active cases at present.
Five patients have died so far, he said.
West Kameng district has the highest number of active cases at 156, followed by 103 in the Capital Complex region, comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa areas, 88 in Lohit district, 85 in Upper Subansiri and 80 in East Siang, Jampa said.
A total of 1,402 people, including 580 security personnel, have tested positive for the infection in the state since August 1, the official said.
The recovery rate among the COVID-19 patients in the state has improved significantly to 67.79 per cent, as 1,167 people have been cured of the disease since the beginning of this month, Jampa said.
The state has so far tested 1,30,246 samples for COVID-19, including 2,960 on Tuesday, he added.