After Goa, Manipur declares itself COVID-free
A day after Goa became the first ‘zero-COVID-19’ state, Manipur on Monday (April 20) declared that the state is now COVID-free after the last two positive cases tested negative for the disease.
Making the announcement on Twitter, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said the state hasn’t reported any new cases of COVID-19 of late.
I am glad to share that Manipur is now Corona free.Both patients hv fully recovered and have tested negative.There are no fresh cases of the virus in the state.This has been possible because of cooperation of public &medical staff and strict enforcement of lockdown @PMOIndia
— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) April 19, 2020
The Goa government declared the state COVID-19-free after the last seven patients were discharged after testing negative for the disease.
While announcing the news on Sunday, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that it is now up to the government to declare the state as a “green zone”. The state has not reported any positive cases since April 3.
“The repeat samples of the seven COVID-19 patients have tested negative for the infection. While six of them had been discharged earlier, the last patient was discharged on Sunday,” Sawant said. He said that after their recovery, all of them have been shifted to a quarantine facility, where they will be kept under observation for the next few days.
Six of the seven people had returned from abroad.
The chief minister also appreciated the efforts of doctors in making the Goa a corona-free state.
A moment of satisfaction and relief for Goa as the last active Covid-19 case tests negative. Team of Doctors and entire support staff deserves applause for their relentless effort. No new positive case in Goa after 3rd April 2020.#GoaFightsCOVID19 @narendramodi
— Dr. Pramod Sawant (@DrPramodPSawant) April 19, 2020
The last of the seven COVID-19 cases in the state was detected on April 3. The state government has set up a dedicated hospital to treat coronavirus patients. It has also set up a laboratory at Goa Medical College and Hospital (GHMC) for testing.
Sawant said that all the agencies, including the health department and police, worked in tandem to show results. He said his government will write to the Centre to inform it that all the patients have been cured and discharged, and no fresh cases have been reported in the state.
Sawant said that though the number of positive cases have come down to zero, citizens should continue to remain at home during the lockdown. “The restrictions during the lockdown period will continue. We will go as per the central governments guidelines,” he said.
“We are proud to announce that all the patients that were reported positive in the state of Goa have recovered from the COVID-19. The active number of cases in Goa now stands at zero,” tweeted state health minister Vishwajit Rane.
In a separate statement, he said, “While we currently do not have any active case in the state, it is our responsibility to keep in mind the importance of lockdown, maintain social distancing, increase the scope of testing and adhere to norms and guidelines issued by both central and state governments.”
As per government data, 758 people had tested positive for the virus in the coastal state.
The Union Health Ministry on Monday said that the country has reported 1,553 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day spike so far, taking the total number of cases to 17,265. The total death toll stands at 543.
