Guwahati, May 20 (IANS): With 29 fresh cases in the past 24 hours, Assam saw its tally of Covid-19 patients rise to 170, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday.

Of the 29 fresh cases in the past 24 hours, 21 were reported in the state's main city of Guwahati, he said.

Sarma also said that three Covid-19 patients escaped from Sarusajai (stadium) quarantine centre, causing immense stress for the authorities, but were traced and brought back.

"Thanks to the police for apprehending them in time. Such acts shall attract punitive measures," he said in a tweet.

Out of the 170 positive cases found so far in Assam, 48 people have been discharged from hospitals after they recovered from the disease and three cases migrated to other states, while four died, including a 16-year-old girl, who was found to be infected a day after her death earlier this month.

Meanwhile, health officials in Manipur said 13 people, including seven women -- all returnees from other states -- tested positive for coronavirus in the past 24 hours.

Of the 13, nine returned to Manipur from Chennai and four from Delhi.

In Meghalaya, coronavirus returned 24 hours after the state's 13th and last patient was pronounced cured, with one person found infected by coronavirus on Tuesday night.

In Tripura, four more persons tested positive for Covid-19, taking the state's total number of cases to 173, though only 38 of them are active.

All the five people who tested positive in the two states had recently returned from Chennai, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma said.