COVID may go beyond control, warns Himanta Biswa Sarma

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Health & Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Thursday, sounded the alarm bell saying that management of Covid-19 would not be possible in case the present trend of virus infection continues till December in the State.

The State is currently recording around 2,500 COVID-positive cases every day. Sarma said that there will be a severe shortage of ICU beds if the number of infection does not decline by October. He added that longer the COVID battle more would be the number of causalities. "It is a matter of serious concern that 18 COVID patients died on a single day on Wednesday," he pointed out. The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that the National Health Mission (NHM), Assam issued an e-tendering on August 28 to purchase 3,000 beds for bodies.

"We are now enhancing the ICU facilities in the State. The Kalapahar hospital in Guwahati would be converted into ICU centre. The daily requirement of oxygen is 51 MT," the Minister said. He added that the situation is already more than critical and might turn worse in October in case the people start breaking safety protocols on the pretext of Durga puja. "We have to bring down the daily number of COVID-positive cases," he said.

The Union Health Ministry has already placed Assam in the seventh position in the list of States having the maximum number of active COVID-positive cases. The State has so far tested 25 lakh samples for COVID-19 and detected more than 1.28 lakh infected persons. Going by the State's population figure of 3.19 crore, the testing has covered only eight per cent of the populace. The development has hinted that the health disaster that lies ahead in case the people are not careful and conscious enough to adopt the COVID-safety protocols in their daily lifestyle.

"If testing of only eight per cent of the populace could detect 1.28 lakh COVID-positive patients, think of the figure of infection in case the entire or 50 to 60 per cent of the populace are tested. The number of infected persons is going to witness a sharp rise in the days to come," said a doctor at Gauhati Medical College & Hospital.

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