Guwahati: Two more persons died due to COVID-19 in Assam on Friday, taking the death toll to eight, while 263 new positive cases were reported which pushed the tally to 3,693, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The two fresh COVID-19 positive fatalities are: a 53-year old woman, suffering from cancer, who died at the Silchar Medical College Hospital; and a 50-year old man, who succumbed to the disease at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital.
As many as 195 new cases were reported late tonight, and 68 cases were detected in the evening, the minister said.
Meanwhile, 152 patients were discharged from various civil, district and model hospitals after being tested negative, he said.
Of the total 3,693 positive cases, eight have died, 2,098 patients are active, 1,584 have been discharged and three migrated out of the state, the minister said.
Sharing the travel history of the deceased woman, an official said she had gone to Delhi with her son for treatment and both tested positive for the virus upon their return to their home in Hailakandi. They were admitted to SMCH, the official said.
The travel history of the other deceased, who hails from Baksa district, was yet to be ascertained, the official said.
The woman’s death is the second from Hailakandi district, which had also reported the first casualty in the state.
Four deaths were reported during the week, the other two being from Karbi Anglong and Sonitpur district. Among the eight persons who have died so far, three were cancer patients.
In view of the spike in COVID-19 positive cases in Assam during the past two weeks, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday asked the Health and Family Welfare Department to ramp up COVID-19 testing facility in the state.
Sonowal held a high-level meeting here to assess the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the state and said the health department needs to vigorously promote testing and identify emerging hotspots.
He also emphasised the need for adhering to the safety protocols in containment zones and quarantine centres to control the spread of the disease.
The meeting also discussed the steps and protocols followed in providing clinical interventions to the positive cases and the facilities at the quarantine centres and containment zones across the state.
Sarma said in the next few days 15 more diagnostic centres will be empowered to bolster testing in the state.
Kamrup (Metro) has the highest number of 552 positive cases, followed by Dhubri with 306, Hojai with 237, Golaghat with 216 and Nagaon with 188. Guwahati city, which falls under Kamrup (Metro), has more than 60 active cases, including an 11-month-old child, and the district administration has declared 36 areas in the city as containment zones.
Assam has so far tested 1,81,108 samples.