With 2 more deaths, Assam's COVID-19 toll reaches 14

Guwahati: Two more persons -- one aged 78 and one aged 56 -- have succumbed to COVID-19 related complications in Assam, taking the death toll to 14.

"With heavy heart, I share this with you all ~ We've lost two precious lives to the pandemic. Late Prabhudayal Vidawatka (78) and Late Subhash Kalita (56), with comorbidities succumbed to COVID-19. My prayers and condolences are with Vidawatka and Kalita families", Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted.

These deaths have been reported two days after a man from Guwahati who had passed away on May 22 last had tested COVID-19 positive after death. Concurrently, the number of COVID-19 positive cases have continued to skyrocket upwards despite the lockdown. In Guwahati city, the new epicentre of the virus in Assam, as many as 378 COVID-19 positive cases were detected on Monday alone.

This surge in cases has been witnessed at a time when the city has been put under lockdown as a final measure to halt the spread of the COVID-19. This latest lockdown is being widely touted as a "battle for survival" for the city that has reported hundreds of cases without travel history at the community level.

In Assam, the tally of COVID-19 cases has reached 8,955, out of which 3,109 cases are active. In a positive sign, 5,831 people have been released so far from hospitals after recovering from the dreaded disease.

Meanwhile, India's coronavirus tally has crossed the six lakh-mark after more than 19,000 new infections and 434 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours. More than 3.5 lakh patients have recovered from the viral disease so far.

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