Shillong: The COVID-19 pandemic continued to take its toll in Meghalaya, with six more patients succumbed to the succumbed to viral infection, taking the fatality count to 199 on Friday.
The state also detected 297 new cases of infection surged the number of active cases to 2,466, while 176 more recoveries from the viral infection added up to 16, 262 recovered cases in Meghalaya as on Friday.
Director Heath Services (MI), Dr. Aman War said the new Covid-19 cases detected on Friday included 180 in East Khasi Hills district, 58 in Ri-Bhoi district, 22 in West Garo Hills district, 10 in West Jaintia Hills district, nine in South West Garo Hills district, five in West Khasi Hills district, four each in East Garo Hills district and North Garo Hills district, three in East Jaintia Hills district and one in South West Khasi Hills district.
With 1,492 active COVID-19 cases and 17 per cent positivity rate, the East Khasi Hills, which includes state capital Shillong, is the most affected district, which has been brought under total curfew since Wednesday evening to continue up to Monday morning.
Ri-Bhoi is the second most Covid-19 affected district with 287 active cases, followed by West Garo Hills district with 187, West Jaintia Hills district with 106, West Khasi Hills district with 105, East Jaintia Hills district with 104, South Garo Hills district with 48, East Garo Hills district with 44, South West Garo Hills district with 42, North Garo Hills district with 27 and South West Khasi Hills with district 24 active positive cases as per the latest official count.
Meanwhile, weekend lock-down will be imposed in all the districts in the State from Saturday, while Board examinations which were scheduled on May 6 and 7 have been postponed to May 11 and 12.
During the lock-down, health and essential services will be exempted and the vaccination drive will continue, officials said.
On the other hand, the new recoveries from Covid-19 infection recorded today included 146 in East Khasi Hills district, 11 in Ri-Bhoi district, seven in West Garo Hills district, five in East Jaintia Hills district, four in West Jaintia Hills district and three in West Khasi Hills district.
Meghalaya has so far registered 18, 927 confirmed Covid-19 cases, while 1, 16,347 persons from outside have entered the State since the onset of the pandemic, even as 4,61,851 persons have tested negative for the virus out of the 4,80,778 persons who have been tested for COVID-19 in the State till date.
Meanwhile, 26,377 health care workers have received the first dose of Covishield and 18,920 received the second dose, 51,868 frontline workers got the first shot of the vaccine and 25,469 got the second jab, while 1,86,198 from among the general public were inoculated with the first dose and 21,835 were fully vaccinated with the second dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 across the State.
