Coronavirus: 97 confirmed cases in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Andaman and Nicobar Islands has recently seen a spurt in cornavirus cases with infection tally mounting to 97 on Tuesday, a health official said.

archipelago had mand well first wave of infections triggered by arrival of nine returnees from Tablighi Jamaat's event in Delhi mid-March, with all 33 COVID-19 positive persons getting cured and returning home by May 10. Rigorous lockdown restrictions helped islands stay coronavirus-free before infection kcked doors of islands on June 10, when two persons, who flew back home from outside tested positive.

Since n re has been a steady spike in coronavirus cases with flights landing here from different destinations.

A total of 97 confirmed cases have been reported so far in Union territory, out of which 45 have been cured, leaving it with 52 active cases, Director of health service of Andaman and Nicobar and dal officer for coronavirus Avijeet Roy told PTI.

"Most cases have been detected among flight passengers arriving here from Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata," he said.

Recently, a girl who flew back from Chennai after getting treatment for some or disease tested positive for coronavirus, dal officer said, adding seven of her family members contracted infection from her.

re are 18 Army jawans among those found infected and y are undergoing treatment, Roy said.

According to sources, 104 Army jawans had gone to Nashik in Maharashtra for training and returned back here on June 20 by a special plane, and 18 among m tested positive for highly contagious disease.

y are residents of localities like Bathubastu Naushad colony and Broksbad. Some of ir kin got infected after coming into ir contact.

Roy said local ICMR laboratory is testing over 400 samples daily.

Concerned over rapid spread of virus here, former MP Vishupad Rai urged Union government to cut down frequency of flights to islands.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands had mand well initial spell of contagion when nine persons, who had returned from Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin in national capital, were found to have contracted disease in late March.

y were immediately segregated and taken to hospitals from airport itself.

A male passenger flying back home from Chennai on June 7 later tested positive, while a woman, wife of a defence staff posted here, returning from Delhi on same date was subsequently found positive. She had got stuck in national capital during lockdown and flew back to Port Blair on June 7 by an Indigo flight.

Chennai returnee, a resident of Prathapur colony, subsequently infected some of family members and also neighbours. Of 572 islands in Andaman and Nicobar, 37 are inhabited.