GUWAHATI, July 13 - Insisting that the COVID-19 situation in Guwahati was �grim�, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today said it was important for the health department to have the highest level of preparedness.
Meanwhile, four more COVID-19 patients � Uttam Das (31) of Golaghat, Jahan Iqbal Ahmed (56), Keshab Kumar Barua (62) and Kartik Kalita (30) of Kamrup (Metro) � died on Monday.
On the same day, 1,001 new COVID-19 positive cases were detected in Assam, of which 513 were in Guwahati alone. �COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Guwahati. We are getting more serious patients now,� Sarma said.
There are 40 patients in the GMCH ICU.
Thirty others, who are not in ICU, are also serious, he claimed.
Sarma today held a meeting with GMCH principal, superintendent and doctors to review the existing infrastructure and readiness.
�Three new medicines have now arrived in India. They are costly and there are reports about their black-marketing. We discussed how to procure and use them,� the minister said.
The meeting also discussed the progress of the newly introduced plasma therapy. Currently, two patients are on plasma therapy and their progress is being closely monitored.
The health department is also planning to hold a campaign to get more donors of plasma from cured patients.
Meanwhile, the Block D of the Senior Officers� Colony at Khanapara in the city was today declared a containment zone after detection of positive cases there.
In a related development, Associate Professor in the GMCH opthalmology department Jahan Iqbal Ahmed, who was having fever, cough and respiratory distress, died on the way to hospital today. Sources at the GMCH said Dr Ahmed was also suffering from diabetes and hypertension.
His swab was collected after his death for COVID-19 test and the report came positive.
