5 states in North-East free from Covid-19, govt hails discipline of people

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The entire country is grappling with the rapid spread of coronavirus disease, which has infected more than 62,000 people and killed more than 2,000.

But there are five states in the North-East which do not have a single Covid-19 patient. These are Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.

Mizoram’s Covid-19-free status can be attributed to the discipline of its people, Chief Minister Pu Zoramthanga said on Sunday.

“Mizoram is a very disciplined state. With the help of the church, NGOs and administration, we have so far survived this crisis and are determined to continue to do so in the future,” he told news agency PTI.

He, however, said acknowledged the threat from “corona carriers” looms large over the state, which shares a 510-kilometre border with Myanmar and a 318-kilometre border with Bangladesh.

“This is a great threat for us as there are high chances of people from Myanmar and Bangladesh infiltrating into Mizoram due to the open borders. We are taking all measures to stop it.” he said.

While Bangladesh has reported 13,134 cases of coronavirus with 206 deaths, Myanmar has 177 cases.

Union minister Jitendra Singh had said on Saturday that the entire northeastern region has emerged as the model of coronavirus management and the rest of the country should emulate it.

He said that people in the northeast of India – Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Assam – have been following the lockdown-related guidelines in letter and spirit.

“By tradition and by lifestyle, people of northeastern region are civilised and disciplined. That is why they could very easily follow the lockdown guidelines. There has been no problem in ensuring implementation of the lockdown-related guidelines there,” Singh said.

Five out of eight northeastern states are free from the deadly virus now and Sikkim never had a single case throughout.

The number of Covid-19 cases in India, meanwhile, reached 62,939 on Sunday, according to the Union Health Ministry.