Aizawl: Mizoram is not in a hurry for the ‘COVID-19 free’ tag as the state is still vulnerable and a new case can be detected any time, Health Minister R Lalthangliana said.
The minister’s comment comes even though the state’s lone COVID-19 patient has tested negative more than once.
The patient, who is currently undergoing treatment at the Zoram Medical College (ZMC) near Aizawl, has tested negative for the virus but is yet to be declared recovered, Lalthangliana said on Wednesday.
We are not in a hurry to declare our state as ‘COVID-19 free’ because we are still vulnerable and can detect a new case at any time, he told PTI.
The patient tested negative for coronavirus infection for the first time on April 27.
Four of his samples were collected and sent to Silchar on May 1, results of which came in as negative on Monday, Lalthangliana said.
The patient, who is in his early 50s, tested positive on March 24 after returning from Amsterdam where he was pursuing higher studies in Theology.
Meanwhile, a COVID-19 patient from the Mizoram House in Mumbai tested negative on Wednesday.
Lalthangliana said that of the eight patients from the Mizoram House in Mumbai, six have tested negative so far.
A local staff of the Mizoram House and a Mizo person is at present undergoing treatment, he said.
Lalthangliana said that samples of seven people, including three suspects from the Lawngtlai district, have tested negative.
Samples of 17 inmates of the Mizoram House in Kolkata have been collected for testing, he said.