PORT BLAIR: Forty-eight more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, pushing the coronavirus tally in the union territory of 5,764, a health department official said on Wednesday.
Forty-one new COVID-19 cases were detected during contact tracing while seven were airport arrivals, the official said.
Passengers arriving by flight from other places have undergo Rapid Antigen Test before they are allowed entry into the islands.
The union territory now has 136 active COVID-19 cases with 133 patients in South Andaman district and three in North and Middle Andaman district.
The Nicobar district has no active COVID-19 case at present, he said.
Forty-two people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of COVID-19 recoveries in the archipelago to 5,562.
The COVID-19 death toll so far is 66.
The administration has so far tested 3,66,683 samples for COVID-19. The test positivity rate is 1.57 per cent, he said.
The official said more than one lakh people in the union territory have been administered the COVID-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner-cum-Secretary Health, Dr V Candavelouon told reporters on Tuesday that after a steady decline in the recent months, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is now witnessing the impact of the second wave of the COVID- 19 pandemic with a sharp rise in cases over the past few days.
Poor adherence to safety protocols is driving the surge.
As air is the main medium for the spread of the infection, people should understand the need to strictly follow COVID appropriate behaviour, wear masks at all times, maintain social distancing, avoid travel and stay away from crowded places, he said.
"People are requested to avoid crowding at market places and refrain from travel for the next one month. Currently, testing of islanders is being given priority. In the last phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, 80 per cent population of these islands have been covered and eligible beneficiaries have been vaccinated.
The administration is preparing for the third phase of the vaccination drive that will cover citizens above 18 years of age," he said.
Deputy Commissioner of South Andaman, Suneel Anchipaka said that a drive has been initiated to seal commercial establishments violating COVID-19 protocols.
Several commercial establishments have been sealed in the past two days for violating the COVID-19 rules, he said.
"The COVID-19 Control Room operating at the DC Office is functioning round the clock and any person showing any symptoms of the disease can approach the Control Room for assistance," Anchipaka said.
The Deputy Director of Health and Nodal Officer, COVID-19, Dr Avijit Roy said that 85 per cent of the Nicobari population has been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Plans are being worked out to inoculate members of other primitive tribes soon, he said.