Agartala, Sep 9 (TIWN) In view of the worsening Covid-19 situation in Tripura, a two-member Central experts' team would arrive in the northeastern state on a 10-day visit on Thursday to take stock of the situation and suggest measures to curb the spread of the virus, officials said on Wednesday.

A senior official of the Health and Family Welfare Department said that two experts, Daisy Panna, Consultant Epidemiologist, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and P.K. Verma, Assistant Professor, Respiratory Medicine, Lady Hardinge Memorial College (LHMC), will visit the state for 10 days.  "After visiting the districts, the Central team would hold meetings with the senior officials of the state. They would submit their report to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry and the Tripura Health Department," the official told IANS on condition of anonymity.  Tripura's Additional Chief Secretary in-charge of Health and Family Welfare Department, Sanjay Kumar Rakesh, has been appraising the Union Health Ministry about the prevailing situation in the state amid a sudden spike in the number of Covid-19 cases.  Till Tuesday night, Tripura reported 16,157 Covid-19 cases, of which 9,653 persons have recovered while 160 people have succumbed to the dreaded disease since June 9, when the first death was reported.  Tripura's mortality and recovery rates are 0.99 per cent and 59.83 per cent, respectively, worst among the eight northeastern states.  "Considering the gravity of the situation, the Tripura government had earlier suggested imposing total lockdown in the state on September 5 and 6, but the Union Home Ministry did not respond on the issue," Tripura Law and Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said.  Of the total number of cases and fatalities, at least 85 deaths and 6,129 positive cases have been reported from West Tripura district alone, under which the capital city of Agartala falls.