Guwahati: Assam Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa in a press interaction earlier today shed some light on the two Coronavirus cases which were detected in Guwahati city yesterday. The information that he shared is as follows:
Case no 1:
The first case is a 50-year-old man. "He was staying in Fancy Bazar but originally hails from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh", Sarma said. "The onset of his disease was seen on the the 5th. On 10th, he visited the GMCH, but because of some special reasons he did not give the sample; he finally gave the sample of the 11th and was tested positive", informed Sarma.
Sarma said that 10 people were in direct contact with him and have been quarantined. Moreover, 19 people, including a doctor in Guwahati, have been discovered as having indirect contact with him. The Minister further informed that samples have been taken from all the contacts and the results are awaited.
"Including him, six persons were there with him who all had fever and it began from a potato warehouse in Changsari. Although after having fever he did not have any connection with the potato warehouse, we have directed the Kamrup (M) administration to seal the warehouse as a containment zone in public interest", Sarma said.
Case no. 2:
Sarma said the second case detected in the city is an "accidental" detection and came to light when the Government tested 2,000 samples of doctors, attendants, Nurses, Grade III, and Grade IV employees at the GMCH after a recent spate of cases at the medical facility.
Yesterday, Sarma said, a 28-year-old male patient without travel history who was undergoing treatment at the Neurology department tested positive for the virus. He was admitted to the GMCH on April 25 last, Sarma added. "Swab samples have been taken from 21 people family members and we are awaiting the results", Sarma added.
Assam COVID-19 Numbers:
Sarma said that the total positive cases in Assam now stands at 63 after one patient from Bihar was migrated back to his native place. "The Government of India portal will show the number of cases as 65 as they include the Bihar case and the Nagaland case in the tally of Assam", Sarma clarified.
The Minister also informed the press that two patients have succumbed to death and the number of patients who are being treated in Assam Hospitals now sits at 22.
Saying that sample testings in Assam have risen exponentially, Sarma added that more than 20,000 samples have been tested thus far. "On this date, 1,113 sample results are being awaited",Sarma informed.
If the rate of infections stays steady, Sarma said, the GMCH will once again be re-opened to the general public on May 15 next.