40-year-old COVID-19 patient passes away at GMCH, Guwahati

Guwahati: Yet another person infected with the COVID-19 virus has passed away at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Assam's capital city of Guwahati Saturday, July 11.

"Very sad to share that Smt Shanta Asharjee (40), a #COVID patient with a history of pneumonia,type-2 diabetes, Hypothyroidism and admitted at GMCH, succumbed to her infection today. My deepest condolences. Death Audit Board to ascertain whether the underlying cause of death is COVID19", Assam's health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on twitter.

Sarma had earlier announced that the death audit boards will now ascertain whether the COVID-19 is expressly the cause of death of these patients, as directed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The Minister also said that although he might announce the names of the COVID-19 infected patients who pass away on Twitter, that does not mean that they will automatically be added to the list of COVID-19 fatalities.

The rising number of COVID-19 cases and deaths -- especially in locked down Guwahati -- has given rise to heavy concern among Assam citizens. The rate of the detections has also clambered upwards, and the total number of cases has surged beyond 15,000. As on Friday night, with the detection of 936 more COVID-19 cases, the tally rose to 15,536. In a positive sign, however, as many as 701 persons were released from hospitals across the state.

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