Four new COVID-19 cases in Assam, total rises to 686

Four new COVID-19 positive cases were reported in Assam on Wednesday, taking the total to 686, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Three new cases were reported from Nagaon and one from Dhemaji, the minister said.

"4 new cases of #COVID19+ reported. Three Nagaon, One Dhemaji", he tweeted.

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Of the total 686 COVID-19 cases, 617 are active cases, 62 have recovered and discharged from hospital, three have migrated to other states and four have died

Sarma said that the latest cases of increasing COVID- 19 patients are mostly those who have returned to the state from other states.

He said that swabs are collected from people soon after they arrive from outstation, before they are transferred to the quarantine centres and most of the positive cases in Assam are imported and not home-grown.

The Assam Cabinet on Tuesday stressed on strict quarantine for people coming from outside to the state in view of the reported spike of positive cases and all coming from outside will be sent for institutional quarantine and no home quarantine will be allowed for the first seven days till the results of the swab tests are received.

Meanwhile, a Microbiology Laboratory has been set up at Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati as an annexe of Guwahati Medical College and this shall increase the sample testing for COVID19 to a large extent, the minister said.

He said the laboratory will start functioning soon.

Assam has seven other laboratories where 72,564 samples have been tested so far with 686 testing positive, 66,562 found negative and the remaining results are awaited, according to the bulletin of the state Health and Family Welfare department.

The state government is following the policy of declaring containment and buffer zones after positive cases are declared in particular areas and as of date, there are 46 containment zones with Kamrup (Metro) having the highest of 14 followed by six each in Cachar and Bongaigaon, Dhubri with four, Kamrup (Rural) with three, Golaghat, Goalpara and Bishwanath with two and one each in Majuli, Charaideo, Karbi Anglong, Kokrajhar, Karimganj, Hojai and Nagaon.

CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH

Meanwhile, ten domestic flights are scheduled to arrive and depart from the Lokopriyo Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport on Wednesday after flight services resumed on Monday, an airport spokesperson said.