One new COVID-19 case in Andamans; tally at 5,044

Port Blair: The COVID-19 caseload in Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 5,044 as one more person has tested positive for the disease in the Union Territory, a health department official said on Sunday.

The fresh case was detected during contact tracing, he said.

The death toll remained at 62 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours.

One person was cured of the disease during the period, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 4,975, the official said.

The Union Territory now has seven active cases.

Despite a steady inflow of tourists into Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the overall COVID-19 situation in the archipelago is under control, he said.

According to the official, the local administration has been strict to ensure that health safety protocols are followed to contain the spread of the disease.

People arriving here by flights or reaching by ships from Kolkata or Chennai are mandatorily required to show a negative coronavirus report before the authorities allow them to enter the islands.

The tourism industry, which was severely hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has started witnessing an inflow of 700-800 travellers daily as all the major tourist destinations in the islands have been opened, he said.

Altogether, 12,561 health professionals and frontline workers have been inoculated till Saturday, and 4,597 people above 45 years of age have received the vaccine shots, the official said.

The Andaman and Nicobar administration has so far conducted 3,14,309 sample tests for COVID-19, and the positivity rate stands at 1.60 per cent, he added.