GUWAHATI: Four more persons in Assam have been tested positive for COVID-19 infection taking the number of positive cases detected in the state to five. One person from Karimganj was confirmed positive yesterday. All of them had gone to participate in Toblighi Namaz at Nizamuddin Dargah in New Delhi, according to state Health Minister, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The Health Minister further said the names of these COVID19 positives were: Md Jamaluddin (52), Karimganj; Md Arshad Ali (19), Nalbari; Md Hajrat Ali (60), Jagiroad; Md Nuruddin (55), Jagiroad; Md Janab Ali (46), Jagiroad.
The minister has called upon all the persons who have come in contact with these persons, should contact the nearest district hospital so that they can be screened.
The minister further said that out of the 68 persons from the state who are yet to come back to the state after participating in Toblighi Namaz, four had been found COVID-19 positive. They are now undergoing treatment at National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in New Delhi. They have been identified as Faharuddin (48), Baska district; Naskar Ali (72), Baksa; Mustafa Ahmed (60), Barpeta; Mahammad Ali (65), Nagaon.
The minister further called upon those persons of Assam who had come in contact with these persons in New Delhi to report to the nearest district hospital for screening tests in the greater interests.
He said the COVID-19 positive cases in the state would go up as final results of screening were being awaited. The screening tests were conducted on persons who had participated in Toblighi Namaz at Nizamuddin in New Delhi last month.
Meanwhile, out if the about 500 persons from Assam who visited Nizamuddin Dargah or Markaz at Nizamuddin in New Delhi, 347 have come to the state for far. Assam government has so far identified and located 230 of those persons and samples of 196 of them have been collected for testing last night. The government is on the lookout for the rest of those 347 persons in the state.
The minister informed that 6,252 persons had so far donated over Rs 8.28 Crore to Assam Arogya Nidhi to help the government fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The state government is taking all possible steps to ensure protection of doctors and nurses engaged in treating COVID-19 patients,” the minister informed.
As on date the state has 9000 personal protection units (PPUs) for doctors and health workers; 80,000 N 95 mask and there are abundant three-layer masks.
Incentives to ASHA workers: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced additional Rs 1000 per month for the next three months to all ASHA workers in the country at the time of this COVID-19 crisis, according to Dr Sarma