Agartala, At least 31 Covid positive patients from other states have fled from a temporary care centre in Tripura on Thursday and police launched a massive search to trace them, officials said.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Anirban Das said that these people escaped from the Covid Care Centre at the Panchayat Raj Training Institute at Arundhuti Nagar on the outskirts of Agartala early on Thursday.

"We have alerted all possible places including railway stations and airports. Search is on to locate the fleeing Covid positive patients," Das said.

A health official said that the 31 people from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan came to Tripura recently to attend the interview for recruitment as riflemen in the Tripura State Rifles (TSR). However, the Tripura government, in view of the surge of Covid cases, has postponed the outdoor and physical tests for the recruitment.