Seventy-one persons ‘without any significant travel history’ among 90 locals from the general population, were tested positive for COVID 19, officials said on Sunday.

Twenty-eight personnel from the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) were also tested positive for COVID 19.

This was confirmed by Dr Kh Sasheekumar Mangang, additional director and spokesperson of the state health department in a press release on Sunday evening.

The cases were confirmed at Viral Research and Diagnosis Laboratories of RIMS, JNIMS, Babina Diagnostics and other testing centres in the past 24 hours.

The cases are from Churachandpur, Chandel, Thoubal, Imphal West, Imphal East, Kangpokpi, Jiribam, Senapati and Ukhrul.

“19 out of the general population are returnees from other states and the rest 71 are locals without any significant travel history,” the release stated.

They are being shifted to the COVID care facilities, it added.

All necessary medical precautionary measures like containment and contact tracing are in place.

In the past 24 hours, 117 persons were discharged from CRPF, RIMS, JNIMS and other COVID care centres of the state after finding COVID19 free on the RT PCR test, the release said.

The cumulative number of positive cases is 3753 including 823 CAPF while the cumulative number of discharged cases is 2044 including 135 CAPF.

The cumulative number of active cases is 1698 including 688 CAPF.

Till Saturday, the total death toll due to COVID related cases in the state is 11.

On the report of using chlorine dioxide releasing Plastic Cord devices, the state health department said that the department does not recommend its use in the prevention of COVID 19 pandemic.

Sobhapati Samom is Northeast Now Correspondent in Imphal. He can be reached at: [email protected]