Published 12:59 IST, June 14th 2020
Assam to conduct 50,000 COVID-19 tests in Guwahati; may reimpose lockdown if cases surge
Assam government will conduct 50,000 COVID-19 tests in Guwahati and will take the decision of renewing lockdown depending on the outcome of test results
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Taking note of surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in Guwahati, Assam government is contemplating on reimposing the lockdown in the city. The state administration will conduct 50,000 COVID-19 tests in the city and will take the decision of reimposing the lockdown depending on the test results.
While speaking to the media, Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, " A total lockdown will be reimposed in the Guwahati if a sizable number of COVID-19 positive cases are found after 50,000 samples are tested in the city. Besides the lockdown, some strictest measures will be taken to check the spread of coronavirus."
Assam's coronavirus infection tally reached 3,900 with 207 new cases on Saturday, Sarma informed. The number of active cases is 2,084, while 1,805 have been cured and three persons have migrated, the minister added.
The minister, while addressing a press conference in the evening, said that the number of positive cases was expected to rise further with trains from Kerala and Karnataka bringing in more people to the state next week.
"After this bulk arrival, there may be further increased in the number of positive cases, but maybe it will not be as much as those who came from Maharashtra and Delhi," Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The minister said on Saturday that the state has conducted 2,01,503 tests from 11 laboratories across the state, while more laboratory will be ready by Monday. He said the state will have conducted 3 lakh tests by the end of the month.
He also expressed confidence in Assam's COVID response as compared to other states while saying that the state's recovery rate is 47.98% and the mortality rate is 0.21% as against the country's mortality rate of 2.88%.
"In we compare the per million testing ratio, Assam's position is better than 14 states in the country, including Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh," he said.
"Only Karnataka, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi's testing ratio is slightly better than Assam but soon our state (Assam) will surpass these states also," he added.
(With PTI inputs)
12:59 IST, June 14th 2020