Fresh COVID-19 case reported in Assam, count rises to 35

A fresh novel coronavirus case was reported in Assam's Dhubri district on Thursday, taking the total virus count in the state to 35, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

This is the first COVID-19 case to be reported in the state in the last seven days, he said.

"A man from Bilasipara, Dhubri has tested #COVID positive. He has a history of being in touch with another patient, who was part of Athgaon Masjid congregation in Guwahati," Sarma tweeted.

Three COVID-19 patients, two of whom were from Dhubri district, had attended the Athgaon Masjid congregation here on March 12.

With the latest case, the total number of active cases has risen to 15 while one COVID-19 patient has died and 19 others have been cured of the disease and discharged from hospitals.

Two persons from Morigaon district had last tested positive for coronavirus in Assam on April 16.

Sarma, at a press conference on Wednesday, had hoped that by May 1 there would be no active cases in Assam, provided people maintain social distancing.

He, however, had pointed out that there have been instances of people not maintaining social distancing which may lead to fresh cases.

With five coronavirus cases, Dhubri is one of the five hotspot districts in the state, the others being Golaghat, Goalpara, Morigaon and Nalbari.

A total of 5,789 samples have been tested at six laboratories in the state so far, of which reports of 35 people have returned positive while those of 214 are awaited.

The remaining results have come negative, Sarma said.

Apart from Assam, samples from Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland were also tested in the laboratories, he added.