Guwahati: Assam’s COVID-19 cases crossed the 1,200-mark on Saturday with 159 people, including 20 air travellers, across districts testing positive for the disease, state Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
With these cases, the total number of COVID-19 patients has gone up to 1,216 in the state from 1,057 on Friday. OF the total cases, 1,046 are active, Sarma said in a tweet.
“Alert — 31 new cases of COVID-19. 20 Air travellers, Morigaon 11,” the minister added.
Earlier during the day, Sarma said samples of 128 persons from across the districts tested positive.
Kokrajhar and Chirang reported 26 cases, 20 in Hailakandi, 13 each in Kamrup and Dibrugarh, nine in Jorhat, seven in Golaghat, five in Dhubri, three in Barpeta, two in Cachar and one in Bongaigaon, he said.
The minister said 29 people have tested positive for coronavirus but the districts to which they belong are yet to be ascertained.
In a separate tweet, he said 38 patients have recovered from the disease and discharged from hospitals after their samples tested negative twice.
These include 14 at Silchar Medical College and Hospital, 11 at Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital, eight at Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital, three at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, and two at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.
Out of the total cases, four patients have died, while 163 have been cured and were discharged from hospitals, Sarma said, adding three more patients have migrated to other states.
On Friday, Assam had crossed the 1,000-mark in COVID-19 cases with a single day highest tally of 177 new patients.
Earlier, Sarma said a CSIR-NEIST COVID-19 testing laboratory will be functional in Jorhat district of Upper Assam.
After inter-state movement through road, rail and air communication was allowed during the lockdown, Assam saw manifold rise in COVID-19 cases.
To screen all the people coming from outside the state, the government has imposed a mandatory institutional quarantine policy for everyone, barring some exceptions.
Assam has so far tested 1,01,257 samples for COVID-19 in seven laboratories in Assam, NIV in Pune, and Lal Path Lab and Core Lab in New Delhi, the state Health and Family Welfare Department said in its daily bulletin.