GUWAHATI, Sept 12 - With the COVID-19 graph showing no signs of regression, the State health department is planning to set up more ICU beds. �In August, we got 68,000 cases. In the first 10 days of September we have already got 30,000. If the trend continues, we will get 90,000 cases in September,� Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
�We will be able to tide over September. For October, we will need more isolation beds and ICU beds. We are already working on it and I shall share the details later,� Sarma added. Scarcity of beds is being reported from hospitals, including private ones. He said liquid oxygen tanks are being set up at the medical colleges to ensure instant availability of medical gas whose demand has shot up during the pandemic.
�We plan to inaugurate two such storage cylinders at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital here soon, and also build such storage units in Jorhat, Silchar and Dibrugarh,� he said.
Pointing that the mortality rate of COVID-19 has increased to 0.31% in the State, he warned of post-COVID complications and fatalities, reiterating his request to the people to wear face masks and maintain physical distancing at all times.
�The government can only work with the support of the people. We can say we will take �action�, but if the people do not cooperate, the government alone cannot work,� he said.
With the festival season commencing, the minister once again urged the public to refrain from gatherings and appealed the Durga Puja committees to ensure that all protocols are followed.
The overall COVID-19 tally in the State has increased to 1,38,339 with 2,534 new cases detected in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate in the Dispur area is as high as 12 per cent, the minister informed.
The death toll has touched 430 with 16 COVID-19 casualties confirmed yesterday, with Kamrup (Metro) district at top of the chart with 90 deaths so far.
GUWAHATI, Sept 12 - With the COVID-19 graph showing no signs of regression, the State health department is planning to set up more ICU beds. �In August, we got 68,000 cases. In the first 10 days of September we have already got 30,000. If the trend continues, we will get 90,000 cases in September,� Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
�We will be able to tide over September. For October, we will need more isolation beds and ICU beds. We are already working on it and I shall share the details later,� Sarma added. Scarcity of beds is being reported from hospitals, including private ones. He said liquid oxygen tanks are being set up at the medical colleges to ensure instant availability of medical gas whose demand has shot up during the pandemic.
�We plan to inaugurate two such storage cylinders at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital here soon, and also build such storage units in Jorhat, Silchar and Dibrugarh,� he said.
Pointing that the mortality rate of COVID-19 has increased to 0.31% in the State, he warned of post-COVID complications and fatalities, reiterating his request to the people to wear face masks and maintain physical distancing at all times.
�The government can only work with the support of the people. We can say we will take �action�, but if the people do not cooperate, the government alone cannot work,� he said.
With the festival season commencing, the minister once again urged the public to refrain from gatherings and appealed the Durga Puja committees to ensure that all protocols are followed.
The overall COVID-19 tally in the State has increased to 1,38,339 with 2,534 new cases detected in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate in the Dispur area is as high as 12 per cent, the minister informed.
The death toll has touched 430 with 16 COVID-19 casualties confirmed yesterday, with Kamrup (Metro) district at top of the chart with 90 deaths so far.
