Last two COVID-19 patients recover in Ladakh; 510 fresh samples sent for testing to Delhi

The last two of the 43 COVID-19 patients in the Union Territory of Ladakh recovered on Tuesday and were discharged from a hospital in Leh district after their samples tested negative of the infection for a second time, officials said.

Meanwhile, 510 fresh samples -- 332 from Kargil district and 178 from Leh district -- were sent to the NCDC in New Delhi for testing on Tuesday, according to a health department official.

Forty-three cases were reported in Ladakh and all have been discharged, the officials said, adding that the first COVID-19 case was reported on March 6 and the last on May 13in the Union Territory.

The test report of the last two patients, who were undergoing treatment at a COVID hospital in Leh, came negative for the second time, they said. Both of them were subsequently discharged after recovery.

There was no death due to COVID-19 in Ladakh and all the positive cases have returned to their homes after getting cured of the disease, the health department official said.

The officials also said 647 stranded local residents reached Leh from different parts of the country in 32 buses and tempo travellers on Monday evening. The passengers were screened and the vehicles were sanitized, they said.