COVID-19 death toll in Assam mounts to 98 with 4 more fatalities

Four more people died of COVID-19 in Assam, pushing the death toll due to the disease to 98 in the state, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.

The deceased persons were from Hojai, Kamrup Metropolitan, Jorhat and Dibrugarh districts, Sarma said.

"Sad to share the demise of four more COVID patients... May God provide strength to their families to bear the loss. Prayers!" he tweeted.

The deceased persons were a 30-year-old woman from Kamrup Metropolitan district, two men, both aged 68, from Hojai and Jorhat districts and a 59-year-old man from Dibrugarh, Sarma said.

Seven more COVID-19 patients, including two police personnel, have died but the government's Death Audit Board has not included them in the tally of deaths due to the coronavirus as they had other ailments too.

Meanwhile, the second plasma bank in the state has become operational at the Tezpur Medical College and Hospital (TMCH), Sarma said.

The state's first plasma bank is functioning at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).

Assam has so far registered 38,407 COVID-19 cases, of which 14,693 were reported from Guwahati alone. A total of 29,080 people have recovered from COVID-19, while 9,230 patients are still under treatment.