67-year-old dies in Meghalaya, 172 fresh cases

SHILLONG: A 67-year-old Covid-positive man died at the Shillong Civil Hospital, taking the number of fatalities due to the viral infection in Meghalaya to 29.
Director of health services Dr Aman War said the deceased, who was a resident of the Jhalupara locality of the city, had also been suffering from diabetes and hypertension.
Even as 172 new positive cases were detected in the state on Tuesday, taking the total number of active cases to 1,818, a total of 39 patients recovered from the infection, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,190.
On the other hand, out of the new cases detected on Tuesday, 61 were employees of the Star Cements factory in East Jaintia Hills, 74 were from East Khasi Hills, 23 from Ri-Bhoi, two from South West Garo Hills, nine from West Garo Hills, and one each from North Garo Hills, South Garo hills and West Jaintia Hills districts.
The Star Cements factory has been declared a containment zone, War said.
He further added that out of 39 recoveries on Tuesday, 10 were from East Khasi hills, 24 from West Garo Hills, three from East Jaintia hills, and one each from Ri-Bhoi and South Garo Hills districts.
The senior medical officer said that 1,17,518 samples have been sent for testing so far, out of which 1,13,184 have tested negative and results of 298 were awaited.
Meanwhile, random re-tests for Covid-19 were carried out at Raj Bhavan in Shillong on Tuesday, even as the swab samples of the secretary to the governor, Pravin Bakshi, was confirmed to be negative after the third and fourth re-tests through RT-PCR and CB-NAAT, Raj Bhavan officials said.
Governor Satya Pal Malik has tested negative for the viral infection.
A total of 41 Raj Bhavan staff members, including one of the two ADCs to the governor, deputy secretary, house controller and an accountant in the governor’s house, had tested positive for Covid-19. “All the 41 persons are undergoing quarantine,” a health official said.
District magistrate of East Khasi Hills, Isawanda Laloo, has issued an order declaring the staff quarters behind the Raj Bhavan campus to be a micro-containment area so as to restrict unregulated entry and exit on the site.