Mizoram will launch a mass sample testing drive for Covid-19 in Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) areas during a week-long total lockdown, that came into effect on July 18, a minister said.
During a meeting to review preparedness for the ongoing complete lockdown, health minister Dr. R.
Lalthangliana said a mass screening drive will be conducted in most Covid-19 affected neighbourhoods or pockets within the AMC area during the total lockdown.
He said that the mass testing drive conducted at a private orphanage and de-addiction centre in Mizoram last month had yielded good results and significantly prevented the disease from spreading further.
State spokesperson on Covid-19 Pachuau Lalmalsawma told PTI that the mass testing drive for Covid-19 will begin on Tuesday.
The mass screening will be held at Chhinga Veng, Armed Veng South, Bethlehem Vengthlang, Electric Veng, Tuirial and in southern part of Saron Veng, Mizoram he said.
About 50 volunteers have been hired as lab technicians and data entry operators to assist sample collecting team and to meet manpower requirements for the upcoming mass screening, he said.
After a brief lull between December, 2020 and March this year, Mizoram began to register a spike in Covid-19 cases since April.
According to Pachuau, as many as 22,677 Covid-19 cases were detected from 3,02,696 samples during the second wave from April till July 17 this year, which is almost six times the number of Covid-19 cases detected during the first wave (March,2020 to March, 2021).
Of the 2,53,203 samples tested during the first wave, some 4,476 came out positive for Covid-19, he said.
While Covid-19 has claimed 11 lives during the first wave, as many as 110 people died due to the pandemic in just three months during the second wave (From April till July 17, 2021), he said.
The Northeastern state on Monday reported 335 Covid-19 cases, pushing the state’s total tally to 27,488.
The number of Covid-19 active cases now stands at 5,784 and 21,582 people have recovered from the infection, including 219 people on Monday.
The Covid-19 death toll has risen to 123 on Monday as a 62-year-old man from neighbouring Assam’s Silchar town died at southern Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district hospital, according to an official bulletin.
The government has currently imposed complete lockdown in AMC area and some district headquarters to break the chain of rising Covid-19 cases.
Earlier, lockdown like restrictions were imposed in AMC area and other district headquarters on April 20, followed by complete lockdown from May 10, which was eased in a phased manner from May-end.
About 18 days (between June 30 to July 17) after resorting to partial lockdown, the government has re-imposed complete lockdown in AMC area and some district headquarters and certain Covid-19 curbs in other parts of the state on July 18 following the continuous rise in Covid-19 cases.
The existing guidelines is scheduled to be lifted on July 24.
