Manipur public works and information and public relations minister Thongam Biswajit Singh tested positive for Covid-19, making him the second minister in the state to be infected with the disease, reports said on Saturday.
Swab samples of Singh, who also holds rural development and panchayati raj portfolio, along with his family members and some close associates were collected on September 9 and sent for testing.
The results of the samples were received on September 10, with the minister and his daughter testing positive, the report said, adding that they are under home isolation.
Earlier, state social welfare minister and cooperation minister Nemcha Kipgen had tested positive for Covid- 19 on August 25. She has now recovered.
Meanwhile, with 209 new recoveries reported from eleven Covid care facilities in the past 24 hours in the state, the recovery rate of Manipur climbed to 79.19 per cent on Friday.
So far, 6,002 persons out of the total 7,579 Covid positive cases have recovered.
Dr Kh Sasheekumar Mangang, additional director and spokesperson of the health department said, “The cumulative number of positive cases is 7, 579. The cumulative number of recovered cases is 6,002. The number of active cases is 1,533. The recovery rate is 79.19 per cent.”
101 persons including 22 females from the general population and eight from the central armed police forces have tested positive in the past 24 hours in Manipur, the release signed by Mangang added.
44 Covid-19 patients have so far died in the state due to the disease and other co-morbid health conditions.
