20 new COVID-19 cases in Assam; total rises to 230
Guwahati, May 22 () Twenty more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Assam, taking the total number of cases to 230, state Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
All the new COVID-19 patients were already lodged at different quarantine centres in Guwahati, Tezpur, Jorhat and Silchar, he said in a series of tweets.
Of the total 230 COVID-19 cases in the state, 169 are active cases, Sarma said in a tweet.
While four patients have died due to the deadly virus, 54 have been cured and were discharged from hospitals, he added.
Besides, three more have migrated to other states, the minister said.
"Alert ~ Eight cases of #COVID19 confirmed... Total count 230; active cases are at 169," he said.
Of these cases, six from Cachar district have travel history from outside the state and they were already under quarantine, Sarma said.
Of the remaining two, one each are patients of Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH) in Guwahati and Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), he added.
Earlier, the minister informed that six people, who are lodged at Tezpur quarantine centre, from Sonitpur district tested positive for COVID-19.
Sarma also said two people from Silchar quarantine centre, one each from Cachar and Hailakandi districts, while another two are from Sivasagar and staying at Jorhat quarantine centre also tested positive.
In a separate tweet, he said, "Two persons at Zonal Quarantine Centre at Tezpur Univ test #COVID19 +. 1 each from Dhakuakhana & Udalguri."
During the day, Sarma inaugurated an intensive care unit (ICU) dedicated for COVID-19 patients at Nagaon Civil Hospital.
To screen all the people coming from outside the state, the government has set up five zonal screening camps, besides those already existing at the district headquarters and local levels.
Kokrajhar has zonal screening camp for Lower Assam districts, Tezpur for North Assam districts, Jorhat for Upper Assam districts, Guwahati for Central Assam districts and Silchar for Barak Valley districts. TR RG KJ