Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday visited the civil hospital at eastern Assam’s Sivasagar district.
During his visit, the minister interacted with the doctors and health workers and also inspected the treatment procedure of the COVID-19 patients admitted at the Sivasagar Civil Hospital at Joysagar.
The minister was accompanied by his deputy Pijush Hazarika, Jorhat Lok Sabha MP Topon Kumar Gogoi, state revenue and disaster management minister Jogen Mohan, Tezpur Lok Sabha MP Pallab Lochan Das, Sivasagar deputy commissioner Lakhinandan Gogoi and other officials of the district administration and health department.
Earlier, on Friday night, the health minister chaired a review meeting with senior officials of the Health, Police, PWD and Education departments on COVID-19 situation in the district.
After the meeting, interacting with the media, the state health minister said there is no need to panic even if 21 COVID-19 patients are presently undergoing treatment in the district.
He said among the 21 patients, nine are from Charaideo district and the rest are from Sivasagar district.
He also said all these patients are not symptomatic and they were from quarantine centres.
He also said they will be shortly released from the hospital and can go home within two-three days.
Sarma also said around 3,000 people of the district returned from other states after the Centre relaxed travelled restrictions.
He said after completion of institutional quarantine, most of these returnees have gone for home quarantine.
He said among them only 300 persons are presently at the facility quarantine.
He exuded confidence that all of them will be released from facility quarantine within the next two-three days.
He said on an average around 100 people are returning to Sivasagar by rail, air and by road.
He said if the average is maintained, the district administration will have no problem in managing the returnees.
He lauded the district civil and police administration in tackling the situation.
He stressed on the fact that if the quarantine facility of these returnees is maintained strictly, social contamination can be curbed.
He also requested all the quarantined persons to strictly adhere to the norms and protocol so that social contamination does not take place.
The health minister also said the schools and colleges in the state will reopen only after the State registers zero COVID-19 cases and there will be no quarantine centres.
The review meeting was attended by junior health minister Pijush Hazarika, Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Jorhat Lok Sabha MP Topon Kumar Gogoi, Tezpur Lok Sabha MP Pallab Lochan Das, state revenue and disaster management minister Jogen Mohan, MLA Thowra Kushal Dowari, Nazira MLA Debabrata Saikia, Sonari MLA Nabanita Handique, Sivasagar deputy commissioner Lakhinandan Gogoi and other officials of the district administration and Health, Police, PWD, PHE, Education departments.