GUWAHATI: The daily cases of Covid in Assam more than doubled on Wednesday with 195 testing positive. The figure on Tuesday was 92. The health department, though, says there is no cause for alarm as the total positivity rate is 0.92%.
There were 21,162 tests on Wednesday and the
highest number of positive cases (104) were in Kamrup (Metro) district. The health department, though, said that this spurt in the number of cases was due to more testing. “There is nothing to worry but everyone must be careful so that they don't become a carrier of the virus,” said Assam
NHM executive director Dr Manoj Choudhury.However, the department has taken preventive measures and set a daily testing target of 33,000. There will be district-specific targets too. Smaller districts will have smaller targets while the bigger and more vulnerable districts have bigger targets. In Kamrup (Metro), the daily target is 5,000.
Senior government officials said that they want smooth Rongali Bihu celebrations, but the government might prepare a standard operating procedure for organising the festivities. Vaccination is also being stepped up. “We have enough
vaccine stocks to last till mid-April. Consignments are coming as per requirement,” said Assam state cold chain officer B K Choudhury.
Since mid-January, Assam has received a total of 19.31 lakh vaccine doses of which 13.5 lakh have been utilised. Another 1.54 lakh doses have been administered to armed forces personnel. The wastage rate, though, is around 5%.
The state’s vaccination target is 70 lakh in the next three months with a daily target of 80,000. However, on an average, only about 50,000 vaccinations are happening. So far, 4 lakh doses are in stock. “Another consignment of 3 lakh doses is expected to reach Assam within the next couple of days,” said a health official.