Shillong(Meghalaya), July 20 : 13 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were among the 19 people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya on Monday, taking the state”s tally to 469.
Director of Health Services (MI) Dr Aman War told reporters that 19 persons 16 from East Khasi Hills, 2 from West Garo Hills and 1 from South West Garo Hills have tested positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of active cases to 413.
The new cases also include a returnee from Khanapara area to Shillong, two high risk contacts of a patient in Assam Regimental Centre and a person, who recently attended a wedding in Bihar.
There are 356 active cases in East Khasi Hills, 36 in Ri Bhoi, 13 in West Garo Hills, two each in South West Garo Hills, South Garo Hills and East Jaintia Hills and 1 each in East Garo Hills and North Garo Hills districts, he said. The 356 active cases in East Khasi Hills district include 278 personnel of the BSF.
“We are expecting to have more recoveries in the coming days, especially from the BSF camps,” Dr War said.
The authorities are trying to find out how three health workers posted at the Byrnihat checkgate in Ri Bhoi contracted the virus, the official said.
“We have to find out whether they had let their guards down due to the weather condition while screening the returnees or they had gone elsewhere and caught the infection,” he said.
Preliminary investigation suggests that one of the health workers who tested positive for COVID-19 had attended a walk-in-interview for a data entry operator”s job at the DCs office in Ri-Bhoi district.
“Contact tracing of the patient is underway and all the candidates who were interviewed on that day are in home quarantine,” Dr War said.
The state has recorded 469 COVID-19 cases of which 52 have recovered. Four people have so far succumbed to the disease.
Dr War said, out of the 28,455 swab samples sent for testing till date, 27,466 have come out negative while results of 520 samples were awaited.
(With PTI inputs )
