There are at present 17 active novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Assam, said Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Till 6 pm of April 19th, 2020 Assam has reported 34 COVID-19 positive cases out of which one has died on April 10th, 2020.
Except the Guwahati COVID-19 patient, all 32 cases are related to Tablighi Jamaat held in Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz. Around 16 patients have been discharged from hospitals so far.
Four more COVID-19 have recovered and discharged from the Mahendra Mohan Chowdhury Hospital in Guwahati on April 19th, 2020. A total of 12 patients were discharged in Assam on April 18th, 2020.
Sarma applauded the doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers for their “stupendous efforts” in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The Health Minister also said that Assam has managed to break the transmission chain of COVID-19 pandemic as all the positive patients were sent to quarantine centres and there was no contact between the society and positive patients.
The 34 coronavirus cases have been reported from 12 districts including nine from Golaghat, six from Morigaon, four each from Nalbari, Goalpara, Dhubri, and one each from South Salmara, Kamrup (Metro), Kamrup, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Cachar and Hailakandi.
Guwahati’s first COVID-19 patient, Manish Tibrewal has also been discharged from the isolation ward of the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) after he successively tested negative.
Tibrewal is a resident of Spanish Garden, a posh residential complex. Sarma said that Tibrewal will be kept under observation at a paying cabin at the GMCH.
Sarma also said that around 82 per cent of the COVID-19 patients in the State did not show any symptoms of the lethal virus.
Meanwhile, the Assam government has decided to not use the 50,000 personal protection equipment (PPE) kits, imported from China this week.
The decision was taken after several health workers and doctors raised doubts on the quality and efficacy of the kits following a media report.
The Union Ministry has identified five districts in Assam as COVID-19 hotspot districts with cluster – Golaghat, Nalbari, Morigaon, Goalpara and Dhubri.
Photo credit: @himantabiswa
