SHILLONG: The state Health department has cautioned people against lowering their guard against coronavirus even as active COVID-19 cases have declined in the past couple of weeks, largely because of the lower number of tests conducted in the state.
Meghalaya had almost 2000 active COVID-19 cases about two weeks back. But currently, the number is hovering around the 1000 mark.
Health Minister, AL Hek, who himself is under quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19, on Monday said that the situation remained uncertain as of now and that cases might shoot up during the winter season. “The government will not let its guard down and we request people to do the same,” Hek told The Shillong Times.
Admitting that cases have reduced because of the relatively lesser number of tests conducted of late, the minister said, “Fewer people are coming forward to get themselves tested since COVID-19 tests are now chargeable.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,02,874 tests have been conducted in the state. However, the number of tests conducted has declined substantially with only 18,886 tests done during the past two weeks.
Reacting to a query on the increasing number of fatalities in the state, he said that COVID-19 alone was not the only factor leading to the deaths as a majority of the deceased had comorbid conditions along with other complications.
“In many instances, the virus was also detected at a later stage,” Hek said.
It may be mentioned that as on Monday, the state recorded a fatality rate of 0.930 per cent with a total of 90 deaths in the state.
The percentage of active cases in the state stands at 10.43 while the recovery rate has been recorded to be 88.64 per cent with 8579 patients discharged from hospital after recovery.