Another COVID-19 positive case in Assam, count rises to 28

A new COVID-19 case related to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was reported in Assam on Tuesday, taking the number to 28, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The 65-year old man, who has a travel history to Saudi Arabia, tested positive, the minister tweeted on Tuesday night.

The patient, from Hailakandi, is also linked to the Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin's Nizamuddin area, he tweeted.

This is the second confirmed case on Tuesday with the first being reported from Dhubri this morning, and both the cases are linked to the congregation.

Among the 28 confirmed cases, 27, including five women, are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation.

The state had not reported any other case for the last two days.

The new case has been reported from Dhubri and the person attended the Nizamuddin Markaz event in Delhi, the minister had tweeted on Tuesday morning.

The health minister held discussions with the Tablighi Jamaat members in the state and urged them to submit a list of people who had attended the event.

The Tablighi members have also appealed to people who attended the meet to come forward for the COVID-19 test. The minister warned of action, if despite several appeals, they do not come forward for examination.

The health department has identified 617 people who attended the event and the samples of 128 of them are yet to be collected.

More than 2,000 people have been tested across five laboratories in the state and 1,809 of them tested negative while 28 tested positive and the results of 165 are still awaited.

The health minister had said on Monday that the state government was considering introducing entry permits for those who wanted to return after the lockdown has ended to regulate the inflow of people.

The COVID-19 cases are being treated at GMCH, Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital, Sonapur District Hospital, Goalpara Civil Hospital, Lakhimpur Civil Hospital, Golaghat Civil Hospital and Silchar Medical College Hospital.

Golaghat has reported the highest number of nine cases, four each from Nalbari and Morigaon, three from Goalpara, two at Silchar and one each from Hailakandi, Dhubri, Kamrup (M), Kamrup, Lakhimpur and South Salmara.