Nine districts in Madhya Pradesh declared COVID-19 free; testing ramped up as 44 of 52 districts record positive cases

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government has declared that nine districts in the state, which had earlier reported COVID-19 cases, were now coronavirus-free. [caption id=“attachment_8190811” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] Additional chief secretary (Health) Mohammed Suleman said that the nine districts- Barwani, Agar-Malwa, Shajapur, Sheopur, Alirajpur, Harda, Shahdol, Tikamgarh and Betul- were now free from the infection. It was declared during a review meeting held on Friday. Apart from this, no COVID-19 case has been detected in eight districts of the state so far, Suleman said. Testing has been increased in the state, he said, adding that at least 5,822 swab samples were collected on Friday alone, while 93,849 samples have been tested so far. Of the 4,595 coronavirus positive cases reported in the state till Friday, 45 percent were active ones, he added. According to the health department’s latest data, COVID-19 cases were reported in 32 districts till 1 May and as of 15 May, its footprints extended to 44 out of 52 districts in the state. In some districts, fresh cases were reported following the arrival of migrant workers, an official said. Damoh district recorded its first case on Friday, when a migrant worker, who arrived from Mumbai, tested positive for the infection, he said. Till Friday evening, 239 patients have succumbed to the pandemic.