Assam Records 876 COVID Cases, 2 Deaths in Last 24 Hours, Kamrup (M) Continues to be the Worst Hit

Guwahati: The number of COVID positive cases is gradually rising in Assam. The state recorded 876 new cases in the last 24 hours (as on April 17). Two deaths have been reported during the same period.

Kamrup (Metro), the district that includes the Assam's main city Guwahati, continues to be the worst hit with 360 new cases, followed by Kamrup (Rural) recording 56 cases, Sonitpur with 47 cases, and Dibrugarh with 42 cases in the last 24 hours.

The two deaths have been reported from Kamrup (M) and Kamrup (R), one from each district.

In total, Assam has done 78, 07, 560 COVID-19 tests till April 17. As many as 2, 23, 816 patients have tested positive. A total of 2,16,546 patients have been discharged so far. The death toll in the state stands at 1129. The overall recovery rate of the state is 96.75% and the percentage of death is 0.50%.

Meanwhile, the Assam Government has announced that Remdesivir injections used for the treatment of COVID patients would be made available free of cost to all those patients belonging to Below the Poverty Line (BPL). Non-BPL patients would have to pay for the medicine. The price would be the rate at which the government is buying the medicine.

The COVID situation seems to be gradually getting worse for the state that is celebrating Rongali Bihu, the main festival of the Assamese people that marks the Assamese New Year.

The district administrations have further tightened the COVID protocols and have once again made the wearing of masks mandatory. People not wearing masks will have to pay a fine of Rs 1000. Police personnel has been deployed and Bihu organising committees have been once again requested to comply with the COVID SOPs issued earlier and end all celebrations by 11 PM. Police are now monitoring compliance.

Assam Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that every person entering the state would have to mandatorily go for COVID testing on landing or entering Assam. COVID negative certificates would no longer be valid while entering Assam.

People entering Assam will have to mandatorily undergo both rapid antigen and RT-PCR tests on arrival at the airport or the train station. "The results of the tests will be available within 24 hours but till then the passengers should stay in isolation," Minister Sarma had said on Saturday (April 17).

He had further added that the current COVID cases in Assam "are linked with travel and there is no indigenous COVID-19 here". He had also ruled out any plans of a lockdown or restriction being imposed in the state.