ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Guwahati: Assam health minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma said state has managed to break the chain of COVID-19 pandemic as all the positive patients were in quarantine and there was no contact between the society and positive patient.Asserting that state has successfully negotiated the first wave of Corona and flattened the curve , health minister said the state is now preparing and working on detail plan on dealing with the people who will come back to Assam post lockdown is lifted.Assam has 34 COVID-19 positive out of which one has died, except one all 32 cases are related to Tablighi Jamaat and one case is secondary contact of Nizamuddin Markaz. Around 12 patients are discharged and presently there are only 21 active cases.Sarma said, “State has started taking nasal and throat swab for testing. In case of close contact and family members of positive patients health department made it compulsory 28 day quarantine.”He said that once the medical colleges which be opened for general people, there will instant testing of people visiting hospital with rapid testing kit. “Assam has evolved a model whereby it will test a person, trace the travel and contact history. We are testing 150 to 200 samples everyday day. Even samples from Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh are tested in the facilities of Assam.”He added, “In first wave of the virus we have broken the chain by not allowing the virus to spread from a person to society. We have flattened the curve and are comfortably placed so far as first wave is concerned.”He added that challenging will be in the second wave when stranded people will come back. “We have to look if they are coming by train or flight, coming from Corona infected area. Arrangement of quarantine facilities for returnees and other details. In Nizamuddin Markaz we had 1000 people and here we will have deal with much large people.”The health minister said through the initiative of Assam cares the state is now working on three fronts. “We are assisting those people from Assam stranded outside the country and first instalment of $1000 is given to 34 people by April 24 another $1000 will be given to them.”He added, “Another initiative is providing financial help to those patients suffering from Cancer and gone outside Assam for treatment and patients who have gone outside the state for Kidney, liver transplant and heart operation. Around 725 people are provided Rs 25,000 each. Verification of another 208 people is underway.”Sarma said call centre set to assist the marginalised people from Assam from outside the state has received over nine lakh calls. “We have verified over four lakh calls and over two lakh people have filled up form for availing financial assistance. In four lakh calls together with families the number will be 15 lakh.”In batches, the government plans to send financial assistance to 50,000 starting from Monday onwards.Sarma these people are spread across Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telengana, Gujarat, Goa West Bengal, Haryana and New Delhi.He added, “These people are from Nagaon, two districts of Kamrup, Cachar, Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Barpeta.”Recently Assam has received from Guangzhou has delivered 50,000 PPE kit to Assam. Sarma said, “These kits are stored in Guwahati and will be used only after requisite test. We had a stock of 1.5 lakh PPE kit and we will use those now. ”