First COVID-19 case in Assam, man tests positive in Silchar

A 52-year-old man tested positive for COVID-19 in Assam's Silchar on Tuesday, making it the first case of the novel coronavirus pandemic in the state, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

He is undergoing treatment at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital. There is no need to panic as the patient's condition is stable, Sarma tweeted.

Responding to queries about the man's travel history and other details, the minister said all "needful follow-up was being done". Later, he told a local television news channel that the details would be shared on Wednesday.

The patient was brought to the hospital on March 18 and his sample tested positive, a district official in Silchar said, adding that the National Institute of Virology, Pune, then confirmed the finding.

The patient's family members and others who came in contact with him have been asked to go on home quarantine, he said.

Silchar is located in the Barak Valley that shares borders with Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya and Bangladesh.

More than 4,000 people are on home quarantine in the state, a health department official said.