GUWAHATI, June 9 - Another doctor tested positive for COVID-19 even as 215 new coronavirus cases were reported in the State on Tuesday. The COVID-19 tally reached 3,050 on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a total of 313 patients were discharged from hospitals on Tuesday � the highest in a single day.
It has taken the number of discharged patients in the State to 1,097.
An anaesthesiologist working in a private hospital, Dr Bulen Phukan, has tested positive for the virus. He is the fifth doctor in the State to be infected with the virus. The area around his residence at Christian Basti has been declared as containment zones.
�Apparently, he came into contact with a patient at the hospital who was later found to be COVID-19 positive. Dr Phukan was not wearing PPE while treating the patient as he was initially negative for the virus,� an official said.
Four more areas in Guwahati were also declared as containment zones following detection of cases there � Satgaon, Bishnupur (Bharalumukh), Shantipur, Hirapara village (Azara).
Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is on a tour to Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong, said the COVID graph in the State is likely to come down after June 15.
�Once the process of returnees coming back to the State stops, we expect the graph to come down... this would end the present phase which had seen a spike in the number of daily cases,� Sarma said.
He, however, warned that if the State enters the third phase � community transmission � it would be a prolonged war. �In community transmission we would get both asymptomatic and symptomatic patients. It will be a long war then. We hope Assam do not enter that phase,� he said.
Diphu Medical College has been accredited by the Indian Council of Medical Research as testing lab for COVID-19. With this, all the seven medical colleges of the State now have the capabilities and regulatory approvals for testing. �This significantly strengthens our testing capacities,� the Health Minister said.
