Imphal, June 26 (IANS) The northeastern state of Manipur has crossed the 200 mark in the cumulative active cases of Covid-19 with with 13 more new cases reported on Thursday from four districts, officials said.

State Health department officials said that 40 samples were tested on Thursday and 13 samples were found positive for Covid-19 in four districts – Imphal West (6), Imphal East (5) while Bishnupur and Thoubal had one case each.

Of the total positive cases of 202 on Thursday, 137 were reported in Imphal West district, 48 in Imphal East district, eight in Thoubal district, five in Bishnupur, two in Tengnoupal and one each in Kakching and Chandel district.

Except for the tribal-inhabited Tengnoupal and Chandel districts, the remaining five districts fall in the Imphal Valley region. At present, the Covid-19 positivity rate in Manipur stands at 32.5 per cent.

In all, 135 people with Covid positive cases remained in home quarantine.

Manipur reported its first Covid case on June 9, when a 23-year-old woman tested positive for Covid-19, the first such case in the northeastern state in the current wave of the coronavirus infection.

Manipur Health Services Director Chambo Gonmei said that the woman hails from Bishnupur district and had developed Covid-like symptoms.

Gonmei appealed to people to be on alert in view of the spread of the infection in other parts of the country.

Health experts attribute the sudden spike to multiple factors including the relaxation of Covid-appropriate behavior, decline in booster dose vaccinations, and the emergence of new variants that are believed to be more transmissible, though relatively mild in symptoms.

The onset of the monsoon season has also played a role, as people are spending more time indoors, creating conditions favorable for viral transmission.

Meanwhile, Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla earlier chaired a Covid-19 review meeting at the Raj Bhavan and advised the importance of proactive measures, adequate medical infrastructure, and community awareness to ensure the state remains equipped to handle any potential surge in cases.

The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh, senior medical officials from the state Health Department and other authorities.

The review was held in view of recent directives from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on enhanced preparedness amid rising concerns of a possible Covid-19 resurgence.

A Raj Bhavan official had said that the health officials briefed the Governor on the state’s preparedness, including diagnostics, protective equipment, oxygen supply, ICU and isolation wards, essential drugs, and the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme-Integrated Health Information Platform portal.

–IANS

sc/pgh