Arunachal Pradesh records first COVID-19 case in Itanagar

Itanagar, May 27: A pregnant woman has tested positive for COVID-19 via rapid antigen test at RK Mission Hospital, marking a suspected case in Arunachal Pradesh’s capital.

Health officials have confirmed that the case appears to be mild, and the patient has since been admitted and placed in isolation as a precautionary measure.

State Surveillance Officer - Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) cum State Epidemiologist Dr Lobsang Jampa, who is closely monitoring the situation, said, “There is no need to press the panic button. The confirmatory RT-PCR test is pending. My team is on the ground, and I’m in regular contact with the Director of Health Services.”

He further mentioned having discussed the matter with national authorities, who have advised vigilance.

Health officials have urged the public to remain calm and continue following safety protocols while the situation is being monitored.

Amid an uptick in Covid cases in some parts of the country, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Rajiv Behl on Monday said that there has been an uptick in cases --first from the south, then west and now from northern India.

“All these cases are being monitored through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP),” he said, adding that the severity of infections as of now is generally mild and there was no cause for worry.

Speaking about new Covid variants being traced, he said genome sequencing of samples in the west and south have shown that the new variants are not severe and are Omicron sub-variants. These are LF.7, XFG, JN.1 and NB. 1.8.1.

The first three are more prevalent, Dr Behl said, "Samples from other places are being sequenced and we will know in a day or two if there are more variants."

Besides that, ICMR's nationwide respiratory virus sentinel surveillance network is keeping a watch on emerging infections and pathogens, he said.

With inputs from PTI