Port Blair, Jun 26 (PTI) Twelve more people 11 defence personnel and one policeman tested positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Friday, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the union territory to 72, a senior official said.

The 11 defence personnel recently reached Port Blair from Nashik in Maharashtra.

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"29 active cases now. 72 total so far. 43 recovered. 11 defence personnel who travelled in recently and 1 police personnel +ve," Chief Secretary Chetan Sanghi said in a tweet.

Blood samples of the 12 were tested at the Regional Medical Research Centre here and found positive for novel coronavirus.

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)