ITANAGAR/AGARTALA, March 1: Arunachal Pradesh has reported zero Covid cases during the last ten days, even as the state’s recovery rate stands at 99.67 per cent, the second highest in the country after the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu having a recovery rate at 99.82 per cent, health officials said on Monday.

According to the data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday, the total Covid-19 positive cases in Arunachal Pradesh were 16,836, while the number of recoveries stood at 16,780.

In all, 56 patients have succumbed to the coronavirus in the northeastern state registering the fatality rate of 0.33 per cent.

As per the information released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the recovery rate of seven of the eight northeastern states excluding Sikkim is above 98 per cent.

Sikkim’s recovery rate is 97.05 per cent and mortality rate is 2.20 per cent, the third highest in India after Punjab (3.20 per cent) and Maharashtra (2.42 per cent).

The northeastern state of Mizoram among the 28 states in India has the distinction of having the lowest death rate of 0.23 per cent and the state’s recovery rate is 99.21 per cent.

Mizoram was the lone state in India where there was no Covid-19 related death until October 28 last year even as the first death was reported in India on January 30, 2020.

According to the health officials in Aizawl on Monday, Mizoram has so far reported 4,423 Covid-19 cases with ten people having died.

While 4,393 people have recovered from the infectious virus, there were 20 active cases as on Monday. The officials said that all the ten deaths were in two — Aizawl (9) and Serchhip (1) — of the state’s 11 districts.

Meanwhile, in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus, officials in Meghalaya said that the night curfew (11 p.m. in the night to 5 a.m. in the morning) would remain in force in Shillong and other adjoining areas under the East Khasi Hills district for the next seven days from Monday.

Besides Shillong, the night curfew is being extended from time to time in Mizoram capital Aizawl.

According to the officials of the Health and family Welfare Department of Assam, the state had reported its first death due to coronavirus on April 10 last year.

The first death in Assam, as well as in the northeastern region, was reported from Hailakandi district in southern Assam where a middle aged man, who had gone abroad, succumbed to Covid-19 at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital.

In Assam, 2,17,537 people have so far been infected by the dreaded virus and 2,14,830 people recovered from the disease with the recovery and mortality rates are 98.76 per cent and 0.50 per cent respectively. The state’s active cases on Monday were 1,615.

With 39 active cases on Monday, Tripura, where so far 32,987 people have recovered out of the 33, 417 Covid-19 infected people, did not witness any death due to Covid-19 during the past 43 days. So far, 391 people have died due to Covid-19 in Tripura.

Along with the other states in India, the Covid-19 vaccination phase to cover senior citizens and people above 45 years with co-morbidities, began in the northeastern states on Monday. The nationwide immunisation drive began across the country on January 16 after the approval of two Covid vaccines — Covishield and Covaxin, which have been cleared for emergency use by the authorities.

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech is the manufacturer of India’s first indigenous vaccine for Covid-19, Covaxin, while Covishield has been developed by Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in Pune.