Assam to test journalists for COVID-19
Guwahati/IBNS: With 53 journalists from Mumbai testing positive for COVID-19, the Assam government on Wednesday announced that they will screen journalists for the infection.
Assam Health Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state government will conduct COVID-19 tests on journalists and it will be free.
“The state government will conduct free COVID-19 tests for the media persons on April 25 at Guwahati Medical College Hospital and those journalists who want to test themselves will be allowed,” Sarma said.
Reacting to the controversy over the Chinese rapid testing kits, the Assam Health minister said that, the Assam government has suspended rapid antibody tests for two days in view of advisory issued of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
“We have ordered 1 lakh rapid testing kits and have not taken a position of it. The Union government has given 9600 rapid testing kits to Assam. We have not received any official communication, but based on media reports, we are keeping it on hold. We have asked our supplier not to supply it till things are cleared by ICMR,” Sarma said.
He also said that the state has now 3338 isolation beds, 440 ICU facilities, 10,061 quarantine facility, about 2 lakh PPE kits, 86,000 N95 masks and 70 lakh triple layer masks.
“The state government has already provided three triple layer masks each to the tea garden labourers,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
(By Hemanta Kumar Nath, Guwahati)
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