NORTH LAKHIMPUR, Aug 13 - The COVID-19 scenario has been worsening in Lakhimpur district as one more person died of the pandemic and the number of infected persons has increased alarmingly during the last 24 hours.
The deceased has been identified as Thageshwari Devi (53), a resident of ward no. 3 of North Lakhimpur�s CD Road. Devi, a teacher of Rupohi Primary School, was found COVID-19 positive through Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) on Thursday last and was admitted in the COVID Care Centre at Nowboicha College. She was sent to the Assam Medical College & Hospital, Dibrugarh on Wednesday night as her condition deteriorated.
However, she died en-route to Dibrugarh. This is the second incident of COVID-related death in Lakhimpur district.
The district Health department is struggling to tackle the pandemic as all COVID care centres in the district are running out of beds. Meanwhile, the district witnessed a single day spike of 213 positive cases on Wednesday, which included 28 policemen and 37 inmates of the Lakhimpur District Jail in North Lakhimpur.
So far the district recorded 1,540 positive cases with 794 active patients. A total of 746 persons have been discharged so far in the district. The Lakhimpur District Jail authority has already released inmates imprisoned for petty crimes in a bid to minimise the problem of lack of space for COVID isolation inside.
Meanwhile, the Lakhimpur district Health department has made up a plan for COVID-19 screening through RAT in different parts of the district. The RAT will be conducted by 73 medical teams across the district in eight medical blocks, targeting 19,509 persons.
In another development, Lakhimpur has recorded 10 cases of Japanese Encephalitis from different parts of the district. Four cases have been detected in Nowboicha, two from Bogeenadi and one each from Dhakuakhana, Ghilamora, Bihpuria and Dhalpur medical blocks of the district.
Except for one case, all the JE cases are related to children under 10 years of age.
Meanwhile, all the JE patients have been discharged after being cured at different hospitals in various parts of the district. This was stated by the National Health Mission, Lakhimpur.