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No coronavirus case reported in State so far

By STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, March 12 - Assam has not reported any case of coronavirus so far and the State government is fully prepared to tackle the virus.

This was stated by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Pijush Hazarika at the Legislative Assembly today.

Replying to a call attention motion, the Minister said that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared coronavirus as a pandemic and it has affected 120 countries around the globe.

�Globally, till yesterday, 1.01 lakh people have been affected by coronavirus and around 3,200 have died. So the mortality is around 3.2 per cent. There have been 62 positive cases in India. However, so far there have been no cases in Assam. Tests were carried out on 17 suspected cases in the State and all have turned negative,� said Hazarika.

He added that screening of passengers at airports of Assam have been going on since last month and a half and many air passengers, who had shown signs symptoms like fever, were directly taken to hospitals and quarantined.

�However, all such cases have so far proved negative,� said the Minister.

Regarding the American tourist, who was found to have coronavirus after reaching Bhutan and who had travelled through Assam, Hazarika said that the concerned person did not show any signs of fever after landing at Paro airport in Bhutan and he developed the symptoms only later.

A total of 599 persons who had contact with the American tourist in Assam were identified and quarantined and seven of them had fever.

�All the seven were tested and the results were negative,� said Hazarika.

He said the coronavirus testing facility exist at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and also at a hospital at Lahowal.

Hazarika said that isolation wards have been set up at six hospitals across the State, totaling 48 beds, to deal with any cases of coronavirus that may emerge. In addition, two beds at each of the district hospitals have also been kept reserved.

The Central and the State governments have taken a major awareness campaign regarding coronavirus, he added.

�There is no reason for panic. People who develop symptoms must come forward. The State government is fully ready to tackle the situation,� said the Minister.

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