Breaking: Manipur Reports First COVID-19 Positive Case, Deputy CM Confirms

Imphal, March 24, 2020:

A 23-year-old girl from Imphal West district of Manipur has been tested positive for COVID-19, thereby making it the first positive case of Manipur on Tuesday morning.

While speaking with Inside Northeast, Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur, Y Joykumar Singh said, "One case has been depicted as positive. So, now we are taking the possible precautions that are necessary.

He added, "She has come back from London. She was traveling to Imphal. Most likely she has come from Delhi. She came by Air Asia. So, we are now checking the flight manifesto of who all were passengers so that we trace them and see if anyone has developed the same infection or not."

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The Superintendent of Police (SP), Imphal West ditrict has been asked to look into the case and ensure that all her family members are quarantined so that the Health department can contain the spread of the virus.

According to the Test Report of the 23-year-old, she developed the first sign of the illness two days ago and on Tuesday morning she was declared as 2019-nCoV 'Positive'. Her test was carried out at The Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS), Imphal.

The 23-year-old is a student of Brisal University UK. She came from UK and arrived at Delhi and Kolkata on March 19. Her brother had also joined her from Atlanta at the Kolkata Airport. They stayed at a hotel in Kolkata and then arrived in Imphal on March 21. Her sister has been kept in isolation at JNIMS and her brother is under self-quarantine in their house.

The family has also reportedly attended a marriage ceremony, which signals at the possibility of a lot many getting infected. However, the test of the 23-year-old is serological test and it has to be confirmed by Nucleic acid test, which is done outside the state. Recently, a similar case took place in Assam where a 4-year-old child was reported as being infected with the virus, however, later the test report showed negative results.

Considering this case, the Manipur Government as well as the Airport Authority has to trace the passengers sharing the same flight from London to India. Then the Kolkata to Agartala flight has to be traced, which means that now at least 400 passengers would be traced. The Air Asia Flight No. is I5-501.

It may be mentioned here that prior to this case, there were no reports in the State and the Northeastern region. This has also become the first COVID-19 positive case of Northeast India.

ALSO READ: BREAKING: Kolkata & Other Major Towns Placed Under Lockdown

Manipur Government on Monday called for a complete lockdown till March 31. The State Government spokesperson Thongam Biswajit Singh announced that the State Cabinet took the decision to impose a total lockdown till March 31 next, citing it was decided upon as a precautionary measure against the outbreak of COVID-19 across the nation. However, essential services including grocery shops will be exempted from the lockdown.

Further stating that the medical department will overlook home quarantine system, the government spokesperson stated that the cabinet took a decision to utilize dedicated buildings in both Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) and JNIMS as isolation wards for the time being.

The Manipur government has also decided to distribute rice meant for April under the ‘National Food Security Act’ this month in order to support needy people during the lockdown.

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