Assam to see 75,000 new COVID cases in September alone: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati: Assam finance and health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today said that the COVID-19 shall remain a "challenge" for Assam till November of 2020. He added that in the months of September, October and November, the number of cases is likely to cross the 75,000 mark.

"In September, we will see 2,500 cases daily and the cases will touch 75,000," Sarma said, adding that the numbers are likely to increase in the ensuing months owing to the advent of festivals such as Durga Puja and Diwali.

Sarma, while attending the Plasma Donation Programme organized by the Junior Doctors' Association at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) said that people should not expect a vaccine to fight the disease till December. The state government will be able to arrange vaccines in the last month of the year only, Sarma said.

"There are a lot of ups and downs when it comes to finding an effective vaccine," he added.

Sarma also said that the state's health machinery has been under immense pressure owing to the recent boom in cases, and the Assam Medical College (AMC) has already run out of ICU units. "The Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) shall also run out of ICUs if the numbers keep spiking upwards," the minister cautioned.

Assam registered 2,243 new COVID positive cases on Wednesday, September 9, taking the state's overall tally to 1,33,066.

Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in his latest tweet on the state's COVID-19 status said the new cases have been detected out of 31,562 tests.

"Alert ~ 2243 #COVID cases detected today out of 31562 tests done in last 24 hours," the minister wrote in a tweet, adding that Assam's positivity rate stands at 7.10%.

Of the news cases, Kamrup Metro district has reported 641 cases, Dibrugarh 170, Jorhat 140 and Lakhimpur 106 new cases.

Also Watch: Watch: When a 11 Feet King Cobra Came Calling at This House