Assam reports 154 new cases of COVID-19; total rises to 2,397

Assam reported 154 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, taking the tally in the state to 2,397, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Of them, 73 cases were reported in the evening while 81 were reported earlier in the day.

Among the fresh cases, eight returned to the state recently by air. The most number of cases were detected in Hojai where 40 people tested positive. Twelve cases were reported from Dhemaji, eight from Nagaon, seven from Barpeta, four from Biswanath, three each from Sonitpur and Karbi Anglong, two from Tinsukia, and one each from Morigaon, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur.

Besides, Dhubri reported 21 cases, 12 were detected in Dima Hasao, six in Goalpara, five each in Hailakandi and Kamrup, four each in West Karbi Anglong and Golaghat, two in Cachar and one each in Rangapara, Charaideo, Karimganj, Sivasagar and Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital. In all, 74 people who returned to the state by air since flight operations resumed on May 25 have tested positive. Among them were 30 people who came back from Kuwait.

Seventy-nine patients were discharged during the day. Twenty-three patients were discharged from the Kalapahar Hospital, 10 each from Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital and Nagaon District Hospital, eight from Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, seven each from Jorhat and Tezpur Medical Colleges, five from Nalbari District Hospital, four from Karimganj District Hospital, three from Silchar Medical College and Hospital and two from Diphu Medical College.

There are 1,802 active cases in the state at present while 588 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovery, four have died and three migrated to other states, Sarma said. The minister also visited the Sivasagar Civil Hospital to take stock of the situation, future preparedness and seek inputs from doctors and medical staff.

He also visited the quarantine centre in Mohbandha in Jorhat and later went to Hojai, the district with the highest number of positive cases. The number of cases in the state has seen a steep rise after inter-state movement began on May 4, with over 2,000 COVID-19 positive cases detected since then.

Sample testing facilities in the state have been increased and the Assam government's aim now is to reduce institutional quarantine, increase home isolation and further ramp up testing, Sarma said. Assam has so far tested 1,33,029 samples for COVID-19 in seven state-run labs and some at outsourced facilities, the Health and Family Welfare Department said in its daily bulletin.

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