Mizoram has reported 172 new COVID-19 positive cases in the last 24 hours. 

With the new cases, Mizoram’s COVID-19 tally has increased to 6,964 on Thursday. 

So far, a total of 5,305 people have recovered from the disease. 

Mizoram currently has 1,642 active COVID-19 cases. 

The deadly virus has claimed the lives of 17 people in Mizoram so far. 

Also read: Mizoram in ‘critical condition’, stands second in COVID-19 spike in Northeast after Assam 

Of the new 172 cases, 71 cases were confirmed during RT-PCR tests at the Zoram Medical College (ZMC), 98 during Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) and 3 cases were detected during TrueNat tests. 

Mizoram health minister Dr R Lalthangliana has said the State now is in critical condition due to the spurt in COVID-19 cases coupled with facility crunch.  

Mizoram registered a spike in COVID-19 cases since April this year, which prompted the state government to imposed stringent guidelines to curtail the rising COVID -19 transmission, he said. 

“Mizoram now stands second in term of COVID-19 infection rate in the Northeast after Assam. We are now in critical condition and there is a danger of the situation going out of control if this trend continues,” Lalthangliana said. 

Also read: Assam BJP dissolves its minority cell after party’s poor performance in Muslim-dominated constituencies 

According to the minister, community spread has taken a very deep ground in the state as even rural villages are no more safe now.  

He urged the people to respect the lockdown guidelines, social distancing and other COVID -19 protocols.