Nagaland reports more recoveries than cases for third week straight  

Fatalities and sample positivity drops

Morung Express News
Dimapur | June 19

For the third week in a row, Nagaland has reported more COVID-19 recoveries than detection. The tally for the week (June 12-18) was 2300 recoveries against 631 cases. It also happened to be the fourth week since the weekly case-count began declining after peaking in mid-May.  

The cases detected this week included 295 traced contacts, 281 self test/random, 19 travellers, 18 security personnel and 18 frontline workers. 

The state Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme’s (IDSP) weekly COVID roundup released on June 19 further stated that there was marked decline in case detection and deaths in Dimapur and Kohima. It added, “There has been a -38 % decline in cases from last week. Only Peren has showed an increased in cases from last week.”

Detection vs recovery: Three districts— Kohima (180), Mokokchung (166) and Dimapur (143) recorded 3-figure cases, while the tally in each of the other districts were less than 40. 

Except in Peren and Mokokchung, recoveries far outnumbered detection in all the other districts. Mokokchung, which was showing increased incidence over the past 2-3 weeks, recorded lesser cases than the previous week. The district’s detection versus recovery count for the week was 166 each. Peren reported 21 cases against 12 recoveries. 

The case detection versus recovery in Dimapur was 143 against 1402, in Kohima- 180 against 393, in Tuensang- 29 against 86, in Wokha- 6 against 69. 

Positivity ratio: “For the first time in 8 weeks, (weekly) sample positivity rate in the state has gone below 10 %. It has decreased from 23 % at the start of the lockdown to 8 % as of this week. Only Kohima, Kiphire and Mokokchung have a weekly positivity rate of 10 % or more,” the IDSP said. The previous week’s positivity rate was 13 %. 

The weekly positivity in Dimapur dropped to 6 % and it remained at 12 % in Kohima. In Mokokchung, it dropped to 22 from 27 %.  The positivity rate overall was at 11.3 %. 

Meanwhile, the testing rate increased to 99 per thousand population from the previous week’s 91 per thousand.  

Fatalities reduce: The weekly death toll dropped to 22 this week, the lowest since the first week of May when the state reported 18 deaths. 18 was the highest number of fatalities recorded in a single week up till that time. The case fatality ratio was at 1.8 % against the country’s 1.2 %. 

Vaccine works: Approximately 32 % of eligible beneficiaries have been administered the first dose, the IDSP informed, while adding that 63,586 doses administered the past week, which is a record high for doses administered in a single week.

It asserted that the vaccine provides “significant protection” two weeks after the first dose. “Out of 375 COVID-19 deaths in the state from Feb 2021, only 1 had been fully vaccinated and two weeks had passed after the second dose. There was another death after 2 doses but death happened before 2 weeks of vaccination. 99.7 % of deaths after February have not been fully vaccinated.”

Laying emphasis on the efficacy of vaccines, it cited the armed forces as an example. As opposed to 2020, when the armed forces constituted 39 % of all confirmed cases, it said, “In 2021, security personnel constitute only 5% of confirmed cases – an indicator that Covid-19 vaccines not only prevent severe diseases but also reduce transmission as proven earlier in clinical trials.”

Armed forces and security personnel were the first to be vaccinated in huge numbers. Moreover, it said that no healthcare worker in COVID-19 hospitals have succumbed to the virus “despite them being at the highest risk of exposure as most healthcare workers have been fully vaccinated.”