GUWAHATI, May 30 - Even as the COVID-19 tally touched 1,185 in Assam on Saturday, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the latest spike in positive cases is due to increased testing in the State and stability is likely to be achieved by June 10.
�Yesterday, we conducted around 8,000 tests, the highest in a day so far. We were conducting around 4,000-5,000 tests before this. The increased testing has led to the rise in number of cases,� Sarma said.
The number of returnees is also dwindling by the day. �We hope by June 10 most of the people stranded outside will return and then we will be able to achieve some stability,� the minister said.
Sarma said in the next few days, the number of tests conducted per day would reach 10,000 with accreditation of more labs.
�The ramping up of the testing facilities will also ensure that those in quarantine can be discharged in a short span of time if their results are negative,� he said.
The minister, however, was concerned at reports that some returnees were not reporting to the government and heading home straight after arrival.
�Many people who are coming in trains and by air are not reporting to the government. They are going home directly. People should keep a track of such persons and report to the authorities when they come across such instances,� Sarma said.
He also urged the people to ensure that persons who are advised home quarantine follow the guidelines strictly. �There should be no relaxation in home quarantine. We are recommending home quarantine for people after seven days of institutional quarantine because of scarcity of hotels and guest houses. Quarantine for the remaining seven days is crucial to ensure that the virus does not spread in the community,� he added.
Meanwhile, after detection of two positive cases, the Kamrup Metro administration has declared a couple of areas at Betkuchi and Pandu New Colony in the city as containment zones. Both the persons have travel history to Tripura.
On the other hand, 38 patients were discharged during the day � 14 from SMCH, 11 from MMCH, eight from FAAMC, three from JMCH and two from GMCH � taking the total number of cured patients to 163.
