15 test COVID-19 positive in Assam after coming in contact with infected person, cases rise to 79

Guwahati, May 15 () Fifteen people, who had come in contact with a coronavirus-infected migrant worker, tested positive for COVID-19 in Assam on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases to 79, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

In a tweet, the minister said, "15 persons are tested #COVID19 + in Kamrup Metro. All are related to patient from Guwahati's Fancy Bazaar, who tested + recently. All under quarantine and please dont panic."

Out of these 79 cases, 37 are active while one person who tested positive in the state has moved to Bihar. There have been two deaths while 39 people have been discharged.

Two persons had tested positive on Monday in Guwahati -- a patient in Guwahati Medical College Hospital and the 50-year-old migrant worker in the commercial hub of Fancy Bazaar area in the city.

All those who tested positive on Wednesday were in contact with this worker, who hails from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh.

The total number of cases in Guwahati city has risen to 22, including a 16-year-old girl who was detected to be positive after her death.

The Kamrup (Metro) district administration had on Tuesday declared a part of Fancy Bazaar as containment zone and also shut down the municipal market complex in the area.

Guwahati city now has six containment zones, including three areas around Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) and the Regional Dental Colleges, the employees colony of B Barooah Cancer Hospital and Amiyonagar in Chandmari.

GMCH has been closed to new patients since a post-graduate student of medicine tested positive on May 7.

Among the others who tested positive in the city are a student of the Regional Dental College, a 55-year-old housewife, a person with a travel history to West Bengal and a resident of a high-end apartment who was the first to test positive in the city.

Meanwhile, six buses from Delhi with 163 students onboard and one bus from Chennai with 24 cancer patients and attendants arrived in Guwahati on Wednesday, Sarma said.

The minister received them and discussed the 14-day mandatory quarantine process which they have to observe.

Six buses carrying 137 passengers, mostly cancer patients, and their attendants arrived from Mumbai late on Tuesday and all have been quarantined at a hotel.