Mizoram logs 653 fresh infections; 14-yr-old girl becomes state's youngest COVID victim

Aizawl, Jul 24: Mizoram's COVID-19 tally soared to 31,145 on Saturday as 653 more people, including 137 children, tested positive for the infection, while three fresh fatalities, that included a 14-year-old girl, pushed the northeastern state's coronavirus death toll to 134, a health official said.

The girl, who hailed from Aizawl, is the youngest person in Mizoram to succumb to the disease, the official spokesperson on COVID-19, Dr Pachuau Lalmalsawma said.

The girl died at her home, where she was in isolation since July 21, he said, adding that two other patients aged 74 and 37 years died at the Zoram Medical College (ZMC), he said.

Twenty-seven fresh cases were reported during a mass testing drive at Baktawng Chhuanthar Tlangnuam village, known for having the world's largest family, whose head Ziona died in June this year, Pachuau said.

Aizawl district recorded the highest number of new cases at 481, followed by Lunglei (81) and Kolasib (38).

Three new patients have travel history, while 395 infections were detected during contact tracing, and it is yet to be ascertained how the remaining 255 people contracted the disease, he said.

As many as 317 of the 653 new patients have developed COVID symptoms, he said, adding the daily positivity rate stood at 11.78 per cent.

The state now has 8,107 active cases, while 22,904 people have recovered from the disease so far, the official said.

The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state stands at 73.53 per cent, while the mortality rate is at 0.43 per cent.

The northeastern state has tested over 5.8 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 5,543 in the last 24 hours.

State Immunisation Officer Dr Lalzawmi said that over 6.18 lakh people have been inoculated so far, of whom 1.7 lakh have been fully vaccinated.