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Number of patients at COVID centres, hospitals falling in State

By SIVASISH THAKUR

GUWAHATI, Nov 15 - Is the COVID-19 pandemic making a fast disappearance from the State? The trend seems affirmative, given the very low occupancy at hospitals and institutional quarantine centres for the past one month or so.

Health experts, however, warn that any lowering of the guard could trigger another wave of the pandemic and hence the COVID-19 protocols such as use of facemasks in public spaces, social distancing and hand-washing must be maintained as before � more so with the tourist season starting on a positive note.

The COVID-19 positivity rate in the State, which was hovering over 7-8 per cent two months back, has dropped to below 1 per cent.

Yesterday, only 107 positive cases were detected out of 15,616 tests conducted, with a positivity rate of 0.79 per cent. The total number of active cases now stands at 3,964.

Of the 29,789 beds at the 1,154 institutional quarantine centres across 33 districts, the number of patients (as on Friday) plummeted to a meagre 170 � with Kamrup (Metro) and Kamrup accounting for 126 and 42 cases respectively. Dibrugarh had two cases. Thirty districts did not have a single inmate at the centres.

Of the total 18,465 hospital isolation beds, including ICU and oxygen beds, occupancy was 1,001. Similarly, the occupancy rate in the 3,353 isolation beds with oxygen facility has dwindled to 142. Of the total 473 ICU beds, occupancy was 119 and the same for the 297 ICU beds with ventilation came down to 34.

Acknowledging the big slump in the number of COVID-19 positive cases, sources in the Health department termed it an encouraging trend but warned against any easing of the protocols supposed to be maintained by the masses.

�It is true that the number of cases has come down significantly but we still advise people to maintain social distancing and use facemasks. It is an evolving situation and none can say with certainty that there will not be another wave,� sources said.

Sources admitted that many people with symptoms are opting for informal home isolation without bothering to get themselves tested. �The fear factor has naturally subsided with time and the low mortality rate has further helped people shed the phobia that was very strong at the initial period of the outbreak,� sources

added.

The easing of the pandemic situation has also created a sense of complacency among the masses as is evident from the growing number of people without facemasks and routine crowds in market places in total disregard to social distancing norms.

In the last week of October, a panel of leading scientists appointed by the Government of India in a paper published in The Indian Journal of Medical Research suggested that the Indians might have reached herd immunity with the country�s number of daily new cases getting halved since mid-September.

Some other scientists, however, say the model overestimates the number of people already infected and warn that during winter, India may well see a second wave.

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