The eight northeastern states have till date reported 1,384 coronavirus cases, including 1,057 active cases. Assam alone has 1,024 corona patients, with the state's Kamrup Metro (313) and Golaghat (159) districts accounting for 472 patients, officials said on Friday night.
Assam health officials in Guwahati said that 168 people tested positive in the past 24 hours, highest in a single day after the first confirmed case was reported in the state on March 31.
The total patients admitted in various hospitals and medical colleges in Assam is 892, with 125 patients cured and discharged. Four patients died and three migrated to other states.
Tripura follows with 244 positive cases, including 70 active cases.
Besides, 59 positive cases have been reported in Manipur, followed by 27 in Meghalaya, 25 in Nagaland, three in Arunachal Pradesh and one each in Mizoram and Sikkim.
Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Ministers, health ministers and senior officials of northeastern states said that after inter-state movement through road and rail was allowed and restrictions lifted by the Home Ministry on May 4, the region, especially Assam, had witnessed a surge in coronavirus cases.
According to official estimates, little over one lakh natives had returned to the eight northeastern states, with Assam alone registering the arrival of over 60,000 returness during the past three weeks.
Meanwhile, in Itanagar, the Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet on Friday decided to outsource the sample testing for coronavirus to clear the backlog in the remote state.
A new corona case was reported in the state on Sunday a month after Arunachal Pradesh was declared coronavirus-free. The state currently has three cases, including two active cases.
( With inputs from IANS )