Shillong: Meghalaya on Monday became the 5th COVID-19-free state out of the eight northeastern states as its lone corona patient, a woman, recovered from the dreaded disease, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said.

With Sikkim and Nagaland have not reported any cases, two other northeastern states - Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram - currently have no active cases as two patients, one in each state, have recovered and been discharged from the hospitals.

COVID-19 cases are, however, rising in the other three northeastern states - Tripura, Assam and Manipur. Currently, Tripura leads the tally with 167 cases, among which 80 are active, followed by Assam with 104 (58 active and three deaths) and Manipur with seven cases, of which five are active.