Two new COVID-19 cases surface in Ladakh

LEH — Two persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Ladakh on Saturday, taking the number of confirmed cases in the Union territory to 20, an official said.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Ladakh are four and all of them are stable. Sixteen patients have recovered and were discharged from hospitals, the official said.

A new case was reported from Bogdang village in Nubra area of Leh district, and the other from Sankoo in Kargil district, said Rigzin Samphel, Commissioner Secretary (Health).

The family members of the two have been shifted to quarantine centres. The person in Sankoo had a travel history to Iran and had reached Delhi on February 26 before travelling to Leh on March 05, Samphel said.

The person in Bogdang had a travel history to Gujarat and had reached Chandigarh on February 02. He had reached Thoise in Nubra on March 09. The samples of all the co-passengers will be collected and tested, according to the official.

The area of Sankoo is already under containment and contact tracing will be carried out. Moreover, 500 samples from Bogdang will be sent for testing, he said.

Meanwhile, Leh District Magistrate Sachin Kumar issued an order declaring Bogdang as a containment area.