GUWAHATI: The Assam government has directed the state police to collate data recorded from the mobile tower in and around the containment zones in the city from where 16 persons have tested COVID-positive.
Fifteen direct contacts of COVID-positive patient Mungru Sahani, a resident of Alupatty in the commercial hub, had tested positive on Wednesday in the biggest single-day spike of positive cases in the state.
Addressing reporters here on Thursday evening, state health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that contact tracing has been done based on the 15 fresh cases yesterday, and based on it, swabs from as many as 340 secondary contacts who are residents of other containment areas such as Kumarpara, Fatasil Ambari and Santipur have been sent for tests.
“We presume a sizeable number out of the 340 persons traced would test positive. As a pre-emptive measure we have directed the police to collect data from the mobile tower covering the hotspot area (Rajkamal Hotel in Alupatty) so that a preliminary investigation screening could be done of those who might have been close to/passing by the area in the past few days,” Sarma said.
The minister also sought cooperation from the people, urging anyone noticing symptoms of the disease to immediately inform and provide all details by dialling 104 (helpline).
Lauding the IDSP (Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme) team for its precision in line listing, Sarma said that out of the 32 persons from whom samples were collected after contact tracing, 15 had tested positive in the city on Wednesday.