AGARTALA, April 21 (TIWN) With no fresh positive coronavirus cases reported in the past 48 hours from any of the eight northeastern states, some economic activities were restarted on Monday following the centre's guidelines and advices. Atleast Assam, Tripura have no fresh cases although Meghalaya has one new suspected case according to media reports.

Chief Ministers, Ministers and top officials briefed the media in the respective state capitals about the economic and manufacturing activities partially resumed in all the northeastern states maintaining the lockdown and social distancing guidelines.

According to Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, of the 34 novel coronavirus positive cases found so far in Assam out of which one had died, 19 patients have so far been released from the hospital as they recovered from the dreaded disease and the remaining would be discharged from hospitals soon.

Briefing the media in Guwahati, he said that to accelerate the process of sample tests, the health workers would start ''rapid testing'' on suspected Covid patients from Wednesday in selected places in Assam.

"The state has received the first installment of 10,000 rapid test kits from the ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) and the state government on its own has started the process of procuring more 50,000 rapid test kits soon.The rapid test kits would facilitate ascertain whether one is novel coronavirus positive or negative in just 15 minutes," Sarma said.

Works in around 850 tea gardens in Assam and Tripura had started last week while all liquor shops and wholesale warehouses in Assam and Meghalaya re-opened on April 13 for limited hours and stipulated days.

In Agartala, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb explained in detail about the sectors where works are being allowed maintaining the social distance, lockdown guidelines and government's do's & don’t.

According to Deb, the industrial units and establishments would be allowed to operate include manufacturing of fertilisers, pesticides, and animal feeds, essential goods including drugs, IT hardwares, seeds, works in tea gardens, rubber and bamboo plantations, processing, packaging, rural and food processing industries, sale and marketing of tea, coffee, rubber, cashew, production of coal and minerals, refineries, oil and gas exploration, and brick kilns with maximum of 50 per cent workers.