AGARTALA, July 21 - Two more patients succumbed to COVID-19 infection at the GB Pant Hospital on Monday, taking the total death toll due to the viral disease from five to seven in Tripura.
As many as 202 more people tested positive during the past 24 hours. Significantly, West district reported the maximum positive cases (83), followed by Gomati with 40.
In a Facebook post, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said 202 persons tested COVID-19 positive, out of which 161 cases were detected through rapid antigen kits. While 25 positive patients have air travel history, three each are from a containment zone and were in contact with COVID-19 patients.
Two patients died at the GB Pant Hospital and 86 others were released from different COVID Care Centres after testing negative.
Rapid antigen tests have become a vital tool for the State to identify positive cases. However, the Tripura Government has not yet admitted of local transmission of novel coronavirus.
A total of 1,11,352 swabs have been collected and tests have been carried out on 1,10,111 samples till Monday. At present, the State has 1,025 active cases. The Chief Minister held a meeting with his Cabinet colleagues and senior government officials to take stock of the COVID-19 situation in the State.
�Chaired an important meeting along with the Cabinet Ministers and senior officers and reviewed the latest COVID-19 situation. I had extensive discussions regarding the situation & effective ways to tackle the pandemic,� he said in the Facebook post.
Most ministers and officials have strongly advocated for a stringent second lockdown to contain the spread of the infection, sources said. But there has been no final decision on it.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb today described as �fake� social media posts claiming that there would be a full lockdown in the State from July 24 to July 31.
�The government of Tripura has not declared any lockdown from 24th July 2020. Unfortunately, some people are spreading fake news to create panic, police are already investigating the matter,� said Deb in a tweet.
