Manipur technically Covid-free, no more active cases, says state health director

Notably, the state has not recorded any new positive cases in the past nine days. The overall caseload in Manipur is 1,37,230 and the death toll from the virus is 2,120.

Speaking to Indianexpress.com, Rajo said: “We are almost a Covid-free state. We have witnessed no positive cases for the past nine days and if this status persists for another five days, we can declare that the virus is fully contained in the state.”

The director attributed the development to the vaccination drive. However, the rate of vaccination in Manipur is low.

As per the latest update of the health department on vaccination, 28,80,148 doses (first dose: 15,66,086, second dose: 12,21,353, precautionary dose: 92,709) have been administered in Manipur. A total of 61.81 per cent beneficiaries have been administered the first dose and the figure for the second dose is 51.89 per cent.

“The drive was concentrated in populated areas with the aim to contain the spread of the virus”, said Rajo.

The director also attributed “natural immunity” for checking the spread of the virus. “Ninety per cent of positive cases during the third wave had the Omicron variant. Most of the cases were mild and while recovering all of them developed a natural immunity,” he said.

The first Covid-19 case in Manipur was detected in March 2020 when a 23-year-old woman returning from London tested positive for the virus.