Shillong, Jul 6 (PTI) Eight persons, including five BSF personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya on Monday, increasing the number of active cases to 36, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said.

The chief minister made this announcement in his social media accounts, including Twitter.

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"7 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state. 1 from Ri-Bhoi, 6 from Shillong (5 BSF personnel and 1 returnee from Guwahati)," he said.

In an earlier post on Monday, he said that a returnee from Assam has also tested positive for coronavirus in Tura.

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Since the detection of the first patient in Meghalaya on April 13, 80 COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the state till now.

One person has succumbed to the disease so far, and 43 others have recovered from the infection, a senior health official said.

As many as 17 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 in the northeastern state.

Random testing is being conducted on persons along the National Highway in Ri-Bhoi district and at Tura to detect, contain and reduce COVID-19 cases in the state, the official said.

As of now, over 20,000 tests have been conducted on persons who returned to the state or persons who entered Meghalaya since April, he said.

(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)