Aizawl: Mizoram health minister Dr. R. Lalthangliana on Friday said the number of COVID-19 patients needing hospitalisation has significantly declined.
During a meeting with health officials, doctors, NGOs and churches to review the COVID-19 situation of the state, Lalthangliana said that the facilities crunch and other COVID-19 related crises have significantly reduced in the state owing to the decline in the number of COVID-19 patients needing treatment at Zoram Medical College (ZMC), Dedicated COVID-19 Health Centres, COVID-19 Care Centres and Community COVID-19 Care Centres across the state.
He told the meeting that the state still reports high daily cases as compared to other states due to aggressive testing of samples for COVID-19, which is now not practiced in other states.
Mass testing is still going on in some parts of the state, he said.
The health minister, however, said that the COVID-19 death rate is significantly low as compared to other states.
He informed the meeting that eight RT-PCR machines donated by UNICEF through ICMR would soon arrive in the state.
He added that a mobile RT-PCR van is now at Lengpui near Aizawl to be used at any time.
Mizoram on Friday reported 396 fresh COVID-19 cases- 78 less than the previous day- taking the state’s tally to 2,20,026, a health department official said.
The death toll rose to 667 as one more person has succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, he said.
However, 530 people have recovered from the virus on Friday, he said.
The number of active cases now stands at 3,029, while 2,16,330 people have recovered from the infection so far, the official said.
The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients is 98.32 per cent and the death rate is 0.30 per cent.
The state has so far tested more than 18.62 lakh samples for COVID-19.
According to state immunisation officer Dr. Lalmuanawma Jongte, over 8 lakh people have been inoculated till Thursday and 6.55 lakh of them have received the full dose.
ZMC director Dr. John Zohmingthanga said that a total of 8,246 COVID-19 patients have so far been admitted at the medical college till February 11 and 93 per cent of them were treated successfully.
Of the 474 COVID-19 patients, who died at ZMC, 75.3 per cent of them were above 60 years, he said.
While 31 per cent of the COVID-19 patients, who died at the medical college, were fully vaccinated, 58.8 per cent did not receive any COVID-19 vaccine, he added.