Guwahati: As many as 273 more people tested positive for coronavirus in Assam on Friday, raising the tally in the state to 6,919, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Among the fresh cases, 203 are from the Guwahati city alone, where a complete lockdown will be imposed from June 28 midnight, he said.
“273 new #COVID19+ cases detected in Assam today. Guwahati city alone sees a surge of 203 cases today and time for us to follow lockdown instructions. Your cooperation is vital”, Sarma tweeted.
Out of the total 6,919 positive cases in the state, 965 alone are in Guwahati.
There are 2,660 COVID-19 active cases in the state presently, while nine patients have died of the disease. Three others have migrated out of the state.
A total of 214 more patients were released on Friday from different hospitals across the state, taking the total number of discharged persons to 4,247 and the recovery rate to 63.4 per cent, the minister said.
The number of hospital beds in Guwahati currently is 890 and at the rate in which the cases are increasing, it ”will be filled up in four days and we will have to take the patients to COVID hospitals in other towns,” Sarma said.
“A 800-bed temporary hospital for #COVID19 patients is under construction at Khanapara field in Guwahati and will soon be functional, adding up to our treatment capacity,” he said.
A total of 3,62,713 samples have been tested so far in different laboratories in the state, Sarma said.
We are leaving no stone unturned in order to contain #COVID19 in Assam”, he added.
Currently, 30,750 people are in institutional quarantine and 1,26,960 people in home quarantine, according to the bulletin issued by the state health department
There are at present 395 containment zones in the state with Kamrup (Metro) having the highest at 207, it added.