Aizawl, Mizoram: A 66-year-old coronavirus patient died today in Mizoram as the northeastern state logged its first death linked to the highly contagious virus, which has affected nearly 80 lakh people in India so far. While the country has reported over 1.2 lakh Covid-linked fatalities, Mizoram - that has reported over 2,600 cases - had not seen any deaths so far.
The state's first death comes amid a seven-day total lockdown in the capital city of Aizawl, which began on Tuesday, to check the spread of infection.
A tweet posted by Mizoram's Directorate of Information and Public Relations read: "The first Covid-19 related mortality in Mizoram comes as a huge shock to the entire state. He was 62-years-old with existing co-morbidities and was under treatment at ZMC for more than 10 days." It later tweeted to correct the age of the patient.
In Aizawal, the health officials said that the man, who was suffering with various ailments, admitted to the Zoram Medical College and Hospital (ZMCH) early last week, after he tested positive for Covid-19.
Till Wednesday morning, Mizoram recorded 2,607 positive cases; however, 2,233 patients have recovered, and there are 374 active cases. Of the total cases, including 563 women patients, 1,747 people were from Aizawl district alone.
With a surge in Covid-19 cases, a weeklong total lockdown was enforced in the Aizawl Municipal Council area from Tuesday to check the spread of the disease in the state capital.
The official said that at least 34 people, including two infants, have tested positive for Covid-19 since Monday in Aizawl, Mamit, Siaha and Lawngtlai districts with 30 fresh cases from Aizawl alone.
All educational institutions, religious places, hospitals OPDs, and shops, except for those selling essential commodities, will remain shut down till November 3.
On Monday, the state government launched a "No Tolerance Fortnight", following an emergency meeting with health officials, churches, and NGOs. The "No Tolerance Fortnight" in the rest of the state involves a slew of measures, including awareness activities, restriction of people's movement, and traffic regulation in a bid to "break the chain of transmission". Violators will be fined, authorities said.