Assam registers record 42 corona cases in a day

Guwahati: With growing number of migrant workers and stranded people returning to state, the number of coronavirus positive cases has registered a biggest ever spike with detection of 42 cases on Wednesday in quarantine facilities in Assam. It includes a two-month-old baby who had returned with its parents from outside the state. The total number of positive cases in the state has jumped to 157.

Moreover, the state is grappling with another problem as on Wednesday, at least three corona positive patients escaped the Sarusajai quarantine centre causing immense stress for the administration. However, the police managed to apprehend all of them — Hamidul Ahmed and Shajahal Ali of Nalbari and Md Saidul Alam of Hojai.

Since May 18, Assam has reported 57 Covid-19 cases. At least 40 of them had returned from outside the state and were mostly in institutional quarantine. A few were under home quarantine.

Assam’s doubling rate, calculated over an average of seven days, was 10.14 days as of May 17 when the total number of cases in the state was 100. The doubling rate went down to half within two days to 5.42 days.

Out of 157 coronavirus cases in Assam that the state government has recorded, 114 are active cases and 41 people have been cured and discharged from hospital, two have migrated and four have died, including two whose tests came out positive after their death. The number of cases in the state rose by nearly 57% in last 48 hours.

Assam, which has done well until now in containing the spread of pandemic, is now worried with the dipping doubling rate with the migrants returning. Five trains carrying migrant workers were scheduled to enter Assam on Wednesday alone while dozens of trains are going to start from different destinations.

Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants stranded all over the country have flooded the social media with appeal for help in bringing them back to the state. Some of the people working in Haryana have also posted video messages to draw the attention of the state. Assam health minister, who is in the forefront of managing the corona crisis in the state, has asked the stranded people to wait for their turn to return back to the state.