'We should not have the wrong notion that the Covid-19 is over. If the State government and the people do not take appropriate measures now, the situation may go beyond control'
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Covid-19 situation in Assam has worried the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Ministry held a review meeting with states witnessing an upsurge in Covid-19 cases. Assam is one of the states.
Assam had 128 Covid-19 patients on June 20. The number of patients increased to 4,858 on July 19. The state witnessed 4,730 new Covid-19 cases in a month. Covid-19 positivity rate was 4.26 per cent on June 20 in the state. It reached 10.60 per cent on July 19. On June 20, the medical fraternity detected 26 new Covid cases in the state. On July 19, they detected 755 cases. It shows how steep the Covid-19 upsurge is in the state.
According to Health Department sources, the Union Ministry found poor surveillance and poor testing facilities as reasons behind the upsurge in Covid-19 cases.
The Centre has asked the states to take some preventive measures like urgently addressing the declining trend of RT-PCR tests and improving the daily Covid tests. It also asked the states to ensure strict surveillance in the districts where the positivity rate is over 10 per cent last week, sources said.
For a month, the Covid positivity rate in the Kamrup (M) district has been over 10 per cent. Goalpara and Dibrugarh districts have also been witnessing an upsurge in Covid-19 cases. The Union Ministry also alerted Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram of the steep rise in Covid-19 cases. Free travel of people from Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram to Assam may also aggravate the situation in Assam.
A senior doctor said, "We should not have the wrong notion that the Covid-19 is over. If the State government and the people do not take appropriate measures now, the situation may go beyond control."
Even after the detection of over 4,000 Covid cases in a single month in Assam, the people in the state seldom follow social-distancing norms and other Covid-appropriate behaviour, including wearing masks. Since the government Covid-testing centres are no longer active, many people do not test their Covid status even if they want.
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