Arunachal Pradesh reports 248 new COVID-19 cases, 3 more deaths

Itanagar, Aug 8: Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rose to 49,916 as 248 more people tested positive for the virus, while three new fatalities pushed the death toll to 240, a senior health department official said here on Sunday.

The three new fatalities were reported from Capital Complex Region, Lower Subansiri and Lohit district, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said. The Capital Complex Region recorded the highest number of new cases at 68, followed by Lower Subansiri (42), West Kameng and Lohit at 13 cases each, Upper Subansiri, Lower Siang, Lower Dibang Valley and East Siang at 11 cases each and Upper Siang (10) . Fresh cases each were also reported from Papumpare, Tawang, West Siang, Changlang, East Kameng, Anjaw, Kamle, Shi-Yomi, Leparada, Dibang Valley, Kra Daadi, Namsai, Siang, Tirap and Pakke Kessang districts, the SSO said.

Of the 248 fresh cases, 226 were detected through rapid antigen test, 17 through RT-PCR and five by TrueNat method, the official said, adding, 103 people have symptoms of COVID-19. Arunachal Pradesh currently has 2,873 active COVID-19 cases, while 46,803 patients have recovered from the disease, including 404 people on Saturday, Jampa said. The COVID-19 recovery rate in the state now is 93.76 per cent while the active percentage stands at 5.75 and the positivity rate at 5.54 per cent, the official said.

The Capital Complex Region - comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa areas - has the highest number of active cases at 785, followed by Lower Subansiri (359), Papumpare (235), West Kameng (162) and Lohit (145). Altogether, 9,72,655 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in the state so far, including 4,469 on Saturday, Jampa said.

Meanwhile, State Immunisation Officer (SSO) Dr Dimong Padung said that a total of 8,78,856 people have been administered COVID-19 vaccine doses so far in the state since the inoculation drive began in January this year.