5 covid cases in Assam after Tablighi Jamaat attendees test positive for virus

Guwahati: Four more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Guwahati on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases in Assam to five, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

All the five patients had attended a congregation at Tablighi Jamaat Markaz in Delhi's Nizamuddin West earlier this month, he said at a press conference.

"The number in Assam is expected to go up by this evening as some more tested positive at Jorhat Medical College Hospital, but we can declare it only after all the confirmatory tests, according to guidelines and protocol, are completed," Sarma said.

Announcing the names of the patients, Sarma requested those who came in contact with them to report to the nearest health facility for their samples to be tested and quarantine themselves.

The four new patients are being treated at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital and they are in the age group of 19-60 years, he said.

A person tested positive for the deadly disease on Tuesday and is undergoing treatment at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital, Sarma said, adding that he is a maulana from Karimganj and also a cancer patient.

Four other persons from the state, who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in the national capital, have tested positive and are undergoing treatment in Delhi, he said.

There are 347 people now in Assam, who returned from the congregation by March 16, and the situation is "very dangerous and we appeal to all who have come in contact with them to give their swab samples for testing", the minister said.