3 from UP among 4 new COVID-19 patients in Assam, cases rise to 20

Three persons from Uttar Pradesh were among the four who tested positive for COVID-19 in Assam on Friday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 20, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

All the patients are linked to a religious congregation in Tablighi Jammat Markaz in Delhi's Nizamuddin West last month, he said.

Three persons tested positive in Nalbari and they were a part of an 11-member group that came from Shamli in Uttar Pradesh and were visiting different mosques in the district, Deputy Commissioner B B Dev Choudhury told PTI.

They are undergoing treatment at the Nalbari Civil Hospital, he said.

Another member of the group who had tested positive on April 1 is undergoing treatment at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital.

The team arrived in the Mollapara area of Nalbari town on the night of March 21 after attending the congregation in Nizamuddin.

The fourth person who tested positive during the day is from the South Salmara district, the health minister said.

The first positive case in the state was reported from Silchar on March 31. Twelve cases were reported the next day -- four in Guwahati and eight in Jorhat -- and later three people tested positive in Goalpara.

All the eight patients testing positive for the disease in Jorhat are from Golaghat district and include four women who accompanied their family members to Delhi. They are undergoing treatment at the Golaghat Civil Hospital, officials said.

The patients who tested positive in Guwahati are being treated at the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, they said.

Besides, three patients are admitted to Goalpara Civil Hospital and the first patient is undergoing treatment at Silchar Medical College and Hospital, the officials said.

Samples of 361 people who attended the congregation were collected, with 20 testing positive, while reports of the rest are awaited, they said.

Altogether 503 people from the state attended the Delhi congregation, while 488 of them were already in quarantine, the remaining 15 were located during the day, they said.

Sarma said there could be more who attended the congregation and they should reach out to health workers for testing.

They "are now like human bombs who can infect their immediate family members, the neighbourhood and the entire society", he said.

Sarma visited the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital and Golaghat Civil Hospital along with Minister of State for Health Pijush Hazarika and Agriculture Minister Atul Bora to take stock of the situation.