Covid-19: Assam likely to face oxygen crisis, Tripura's situation critical

Guwahati

Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, Assam government is apprehending a crisis of oxygen and is trying to import it from neighbouring West Bengal and Jharkhand, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.

On the other hand, in Tripura, with a positivity rate of 21 per cent, the Covid-19 situation under the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) areas is very alarming.

Sarma said that consumption of oxygen by Covid and non-covid patients is gradually increasing in Assam since last month and currently per day oxygen requirement is 33 MT against the state's production capacity of 37.86 MT per day.

"As on Saturday 433 patients are on oxygen support. If the number of Covid and non-covid patients increased, it would be a serious challenge for the health department to manage the oxygen. If we at all manage oxygen from West Bengal and Jharkhand, it would also be a tough task to carry the oxygen in time," he told the media.

According to the Minister, Assam's Covid-19 positive cases increased to 1,01,367 with 81,070 patients recovered from the disease and 286 people succumbed to the disease.

There are 20,008 Covid-19 infected people under treatment on Saturday across the state.

Of the total of 286 deaths took place due to Covid-19 so far in Assam, 183 people died in six of the state's 33 districts -- Kamrup (Metro 64), Dibrugarh (39), Cachar (25), Tinsuikia (20), Karimganj (18) and Kamrup (Rural 17).

With the mortality rate due to coronavirus 0.28 per cent, Sarma claimed that the fatality rate of Assam is lowest in the country though it was earlier this month 0.24 per cent.

"Assam so far completed testing of 21.47 Lakh samples. With 62,606 per million tests, Assam climbed to third position in the category in India after Delhi and Andhra Pradesh," he said.

After Assam, Tripura with 10,879 Covid-19 positive cases becomes the second most affected state among the eight northeastern states. With 96 deaths due to the coronavirus, Tripura's mortality rate is 0.88 per cent against Assam's 0.28 per cent.

In Tripura, 7,232 people have recovered from the disease while 3,529 active cases were reported on Saturday night.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who also holds the Health Department, said that Covid-19 crisis in the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) areas is extremely alarming with the positivity rate of 21 per cent against the alarming ratio of 10 per cent.

Around five lakh people reside in the AMC areas.

"Of the 49 wards in the AMC, 753 coronavirus positive cases found in nine wards. To avoid the gatherings in the government offices, 50 per cent employees of group "C" and "D" employees would be allowed to attend the office per day," Deb said in locally televised speech through the television channels.

With the rise in Covid-19 cases, the Tripura government from Saturday suspended the "Neighbourhood Classes", which was started by the education department on August 20 in open spaces (outside the class rooms) with five students in each group to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among the school students.