GUWAHATI, April 20 - Assam has started rapid testing from today even as two more COVID-19 patients were discharged during the day, bringing down the number of active cases to 14.
Hazrat Ali was discharged today from Sonapur Civil Hospital, after his two successive tests confirmed as negative. Babu Ali, was discharged from Telahi Model Hospital, Basagaon, Lakhimpur after his three successive tests were negative.
The total number of cured patients stands at 19.
All discharged patients have been asked to strictly adhere to the home quarantine guidelines.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today said that rapid testing in the medical college hospitals and civil hospitals has begun from today.
The State has received 9,600 rapid testing kits from the Centre.
Fifty rapid tests will be done at city housing complex � Spanish Garden and 25 at the Aathgaon Kabarsthan Masjid � both declared containment zones following detection of positive cases there.
Another 250 rapid tests will be done at Lahorighat, from where some cases had emerged recently.
�The remaining kits will be distributed among medical colleges and civil hospitals. Tests will be done in patients visiting the hospitals if the doctors feel it is required,� the Health Minister said.
According to Sarma, the rapid tests will reveal two things � if the patient is currently COVID-19 positive, or if he or she was infected in the past and had recovered.
More rapid test kits are likely to arrive in the State in a couple of days.
The Health Minister further said the medical colleges will reopen for general patients from April 24.
�Almost all the positive patients are expected to be cured by April 28, wrapping up the first phase of the virus outbreak in the State. This will be a temporary relief for us and it will help us plan for the next stage�, the Minister said.
