This state in Northeast India is yet to record any COVID fatality
FACT | Sept 08, 2020:
India has recorded about 71,642 COVID-19 related fatalities in the past six months even as securing the Number two spot in the list of countries with the highest number of confirmed cases of coronavirus.
India became the second country in the world with the largest number of COVID-19 confirmed cases with 4,204,613 total cases being recorded on Tuesday.
While the rest of the world is reeling under the pandemic with deaths being reported almost daily, this state in the Northeastern region of India has proved to be an exemption.
With a tag of being the most disciplined state, 'Mizoram' -a small state with a population of 10.91 lakh (2011 census), has not recorded any COVID-19 death so far.
Till now, Mizoram recorded a total of 1,114 Covid-19 positive cases as per the Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Mizoram with no fatalities.
"Fortunately, we have had no Covid-19 deaths in our state yet. One reason for that could be the fact that most of the cases we have had till now have been of young people and very few above the age of 50," said Dr Eric Zomawia, mission director of National Health Mission (NHM) Mizoram.
"We have noticed that most patients in Mizoram have had no co-morbidity and been largely asymptomatic. Due to proper care at the hospitals and Covid-19 centres, they have been recovering well," he added.
On March 24, Mizoram recorded its first case of COVID-19, after a 50-year-old pastor who had returned from a trip to the Netherlands, tested positive. After spending over a month in the hospital, he was found negative on April 27.
The state managed to contain the spread of COVID-19 for over two months until July when it recorded twelve new cases after the inter-state movement was lifted on May 4.
"We have been lucky that most patients have been asymptomatic. As on Monday, we have 382 active cases, but none of them is admitted in an intensive care unit (ICU)," said Mizoram health secretary H Lalengmawia.
"We were one of the first states to start screening at airports and also sealed the state's international border points with Bangladesh and Myanmar very early preventing movement of people from those countries," said Lalengmawia.
"The Mizo society is a very disciplined one and all guidelines issued by the state government regarding restrictions and safety have been scrupulously followed by the general public. That has helped us in containing the pandemic to manageable proportions," he added.
The state of Mizoram has a Christian population of around 87% and many church organisations have been sincerely and actively joining hands with the government in ensuring compliance of COVID-19-related guidelines and helping in tackling the disease.
"As Mizoram is a largely Christian community, the church is also playing a crucial role allowing us to set up quarantine centres in churches and schools run by them," he added.
