AIZAWL, June 18 - Mizoram�s COVID-19 tally today rose to 130 following detection of nine fresh cases, including a one-year-old child.
Official sources said out of 615 samples tested today, nine samples tested positive, including that of six women, while results for 107 samples were awaited.
Currently, there are 129 active cases in the State. The fresh cases include four each from Lawngtlai and Siaha districts and one from Lunglei district. Among them, four each had returned from Delhi and Haryana while one had come back from Maharashtra, the source said.
In a positive development, eight COVID-19 patients, who had tested positive on June 1, have tested negative in two consecutive tests. Health Minister Dr R Lalthangliana said they are expected to be discharged from hospital on Friday. With this, nine coronavirus patients have been cured in the State so far, the minister added.
In another development, all the drivers and conductors of the buses used to ferry returnees in Mizoram have tested negative for COVID-19.
Official sources said swab samples of the drivers and conductors were tested on Wednesday and all the results came negative.
In the wake of the return of Mizoram residents from different parts of the country in large numbers, the Mizoram Government had hired 120 private city buses to ferry the returnees from Bairabi railway station to different districts of the State.
Drivers and conductors of these private buses were not quarantined because they refused to transport the returnees if they had to undergo quarantine.
Since there is a shortage of vehicles, the government agreed to their demand. Subsequently, a protective sheet was put up between the drivers/conductors and the passengers to avoid any possible transmission of COVID-19. When a conductor of a bus owned by Mizoram State Transport used to ferry returnees tested positive for COVID-19 on June 13, the public as well as health officials became worried since the drivers and conductors had not been quarantined.
The news of all the bus drivers and conductors testing negative has come as a big relief for the people.
