Why the Covid19 numbers are not encouraging in Assam

The Covid19 situation in Assam has turned grim with the rising number of cases as the number of total cases has gone up to 13,336; of which 4988 are active and 8329 have been cured and discharged so fare while 16 died due to the infection.

Guwahati alone recorded 3165 confirmed cases since July 1^st-7^th, 2020 while the state has reported 4789 Covid19 cases the same period. This indicates that 66% per cent of the recent cases are from Guwahati.

As such, Assam Health Minister has himslef said that, "numbers are not encouraging. Self-control is critical".

Assam and the Northeast: Covid19

Assam has the highest Covid19 cases in Northeast India followed by Tripura.

From the data above, Assam has so far 13336 cases and the total cases in the Northeast are 17,773. Thus, Assam has 75% of the cases in the Northeast.

This makes Guwahati one of the most vulnerable places for the spread of Covid19 in Northeast India. A total of 10 districts has barred the intra-district travel in the state.

Other areas concern: Assam

The Jorhat district administration, Assam declared a complete lockdown in the town from July 9^th to July 15^th, 2020 to arrest the spread of the COVID-19 infection.

The decision came immediately after 19 persons have been tested COVID positive on July 6^th, 2020. All the 19 cases were detected from Rojamaidam area of the town and have no travel history.

In Dibrugarh, there are 9 new COVID19 positive detected in Dibrugarh district. The total cases for the district are now at 249.

Also read: Assam: Guwahati reports over 3000 COVID-19 cases in last 7 days

Seven fresh COVID-19 positive cases have been detected in South Assam's Hailakandi district, taking the total tally to 365. Health authorities here disclosed that Mustafa Ahmed Barbhuiya, 29, Azarul Haque Mazumder, 25, Md. Asaduddin Laskar, 34, Bishnu Bhor, 24, Julie Singha, 27, Mahmudur Rahman Laskar, 20, and Tarik Aziz Choudhury, 27, have tested positive on Tuesday. 

Home quarantine vs centre: Covid19

The rising number of Covid19 cases has led to the state corona centres getting exhausted amid the efforts of the state government. As such, private hospitals have been allocated for the treatment. However, one key concern that has been raised by the people is of the facility of Home quarantine. Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier rejected the idea due to the community toilets shared by the people where community spread has surfaced and has also given the logic of lack of staff in case of an emergency. Extending the issue IMA Assam wing released a response statement.

The Assam wing of the Indian Medical Association expressed strong resentment at the recent changes in Covid19 management policy by the government.

“With the present surge of Covid19 patients, it will be difficult for the government to control the situation if proper planning is not done. Increasing hospital beds without manpower planning will be a futile exercise as we have very limited resources in terms of doctors and health workers,” the association stated in a letter wrote to the Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on July 7^th, 2020.

Besides, the association advised the government to adhere to ICMR’s advice of managing and supervising asymptomatic Covid19 patients who qualify for home treatment to get themselves treated in their homes as it is not possible with limited resources and facilities to treat the large numbers of cases. IMA urged the government to take experienced healthcare professionals and groups in confidence in proper planning to face the challenges rather than taking the closed door and whimsical decisions. “Otherwise the much talked about successful Assam model will collapse in no time,” said Dr Satyajit Bomb, State President.

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