JORHAT/DERGAON, May 30 - State Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Education and Finance Himanta Biswa Sarma today inaugurated the COVID-19 testing laboratory at the CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology on Pulibor outskirts here today.
The CSIR-NEIST laboratory became the eighth laboratory for testing COVID-19 in the State. Speaking to media persons on the occasion, Sarma said the NEIST's laboratory was the first facility outside of the six medical colleges in the State and the laboratory of Indian Council of Medical Research at Lahowal in Dibrugarh district.
�We have till date tested 85,000 people in Assam and within two or three days hope to complete one lakh tests and the addition of this (NEIST) laboratory will further the testing capacity,� he added.
He informed that by June 15, Assam is expected to have a total of 12 testing facilities.
Meanwhile, Jorhat Deputy Commissioner Roshni A Korati informed that with five new positive cases being detected today, the total number of cases in the district has gone up to 16 with 11 active cases.
Korati said all the five persons reached Jorhat on May 26 and were in quarantine. She added that all of them were asymptomatic and shifted to JMCH.
Meanwhile, Sarma also visited the Golaghat Civil Hospital today and interacted with the patients there. He informed that there are presently 163 active cases in the district.
