Assam reports 2,706 fresh COVID cases, 6 more deaths

Assam's COVID-19 tally rose to 74,501 with 2,706 people testing positive on Friday, while six more persons succumbed to the disease taking the death toll to 175, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The state at present has 22,630 active novel coronavirus patients, who are under treatment in various hospitals and Covid Care Centres (CCC), Sarma tweeted.

"Alert ~ 2706 COVID cases detected out of 49603 tests done in last 24 hours. Positivity rate - 5.45%," he said in a tweet.

Out of these new cases, the highest 719 cases were reported from Kamrup Metropolitan district, in which Guwahati city is located, followed by 264 cases in Dibrugarh, 258 in Kamrup and 145 in Nagaon. The remaining 1,320 infections were recorded in several other districts.

During the day, six more persons, including a woman, died due to COVID-19 in Hailakandi, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karbi Anglong, Kamrup and Goalpara districts, Sarma said. The COVID-19 fatalities in the state now stood at 175. At a plasma donation function during the day, Sarma said that 300-350 more COVID-19 patients, including five police personnel, have died due to ailments like cancer, kidney failure, heart disease or other comorbidities.

The government's Death Audit Board has not included them in the tally of deaths caused by the COVID-19 virus as they had other ailments, he said. Sarma also said that 2,310 patients recovered from the disease on Friday, taking the total number of people who have been cured to 51,693.

"Pleased to see that so many people have recovered. I wish them good health & long life ahead," he added.

The state now has 22,630 active cases.