4 persons recover from COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar

Islands, active cases at 18

Port Blair, Apr 29 () Four persons, including the39-year-old police radio operator from the Bambooflat area,recovered from COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands,officials said on Wednesday.

They tested negative twice, following which they weredeclared cured, a senior official said.

The police radio operator and his three family membershave been shifted from the GB Pant Hospital to a governmentguest house where a quarantine facility has been set up, hesaid

With the recoveries, the number of active cases in theUnion Territory dropped to 18, he added.

Chief Secretary Chetan Sanghi said there will be nolet-up in vigil and caution.

"Long and tough road ahead," he said in a tweet.

The Union Territory, home to several vulnerabletribes, has reported 33 cases. Eleven of them -- 10 with linksto the Tablighi Jamat event in Delhi and a student whotravelled with them in a flight from Kolkata to Port Blair --were declared cured weeks back.

The police radio operator tested positive for theCOVID-19 on April 17 and 21 persons who came in contact withhim got infected. They were either his family members orneighbours or acquaintances.

Those declared cured will have to remain ininstitutional quarantine for 28 days and will be dischargedafter that, Avijit Roy, the nodal officer for COVID-19 in theUT, told .

A total of 3,246 samples have so far been sent to theRegional Medical Research Centre here for testing, and ofthem, reports of 169 are awaited, according to the latesthealth bulletin issued by the administration.

Teams have been set up to conduct door-to-doorsurveillance in the containment zones -- Atlanta Point,Dignabad, Round Basti, Sisti Nagar, Mohanpura, Biggiline,Bambooflat and Shorepoint, among others. So far, they havereached 1,39,370 people, officials said.

Additional restrictions have been imposed in bothcontainment and non-containment zones in South Andaman, fromwhere these 22 cases were reported, to prevent the spread ofthe coronavirus, they said.

The administration is keeping a close watch on thepotential suspected cases in the Islands and the HealthDepartment has kept ready 159 isolation beds in GB PantHospital, INHS Dhanvantri Hospital, Pillar Hospital and othermedical facilities, officials said.

Besides, quarantine facilities have also been createdin government guest houses and private hotels for asymptomaticsuspicious cases, they said.

Officials said total 930 persons are currently ininstitutional quarantine facilities in the Islands. CORRSOM SOM