The Northeastern state Mizoram has officially become coronavirus-free and is the sixth Indian state to have zero patients infected by the disease at present after Goa, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. The lone COVID-19 patient in Mizoram, a pastor, was discharged from the Zoram Medical College (ZMC) on Saturday afternoon after 45 days of intense treatment, as per a statement by the state's Health Minister Dr R Lalthangliana.

Aged 50, the pastor working under the Baptist Church of Mizoram, had tested positive four times after which he turned negative during his 45-day battle against the novel coronavirus. It has been revealed that the pastor had been pursuing higher studies in theology in Amsterdam, Netherlands and had returned to Mizoram on March 16. Upon his return, he had tested positive for COVID-19 on March 24 and was subsequently admitted at the ZMC along with his wife and two children. Although the pastor's wife and children were discharged on March 28 after they tested negative for the coronavirus, the pastor had to endure a long battle up ahead.

Mizoram's Health Minister Dr R Lalthangliana expressed his gratitude towards the doctors, nurses and health care staff in the ZMC for treating the patient successfully and conveyed the message that Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan congratulated the state for becoming free of COVID-19. Harsh Vardhan has also praised the state for a 10-point drop in the infant mortality rate. Health department officials in the state have advised the pastor to stay in home quarantine for a period of 14 days and once again undergo another medical check-up. Upon his return back home, the pastor was accorded by a warm welcome by the people in his locality in the state's capital city, Aizawl.