Intensify testing- Assam chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma directed the officials to ramp up testing and asked the department to procure 50 lakh Rapid Antigen Test kits to intensify testing.

Sarma directed the health department to conduct one lakh COVID tests daily to detect positive cases early. He also asked the department to procure 50 lakh Rapid Antigen Test kits to intensify testing.

Further, the Chief Minister also directed the health department to increase institutional quarantine, micro containment zones and COVID Care Centres in a bid to arrest surging COVID-19 cases. With a view to tackle the pandemic with human heart, the Chief Minister instructed to provide free food to poor people of the containment zones for two weeks.


The Chief Minister also directed to ramp up health infrastructure and ensure adequate stock of Remdesivir injections.

Sarma on Thursday reviewed the prevailing COVID-19 situation in river island district of Majuli at a meeting held with Deputy Commissioner (DC) and other senior officers at Majuli DC Office conference hall and directed strict implementation of restrictions for containing the pandemic. Each minister is assigned districts to review the COVID-19 situation.

The Chief Minister took stock of the availability of ICU beds in the district along with oxygen, medicines, health infrastructure etc in view of the rising number of cases.

Sarma also reviewed the status of implementation of various schemes in Majuli and he stressed on ensuring quality of construction and timely completion of ongoing schemes in the district.

He instructed authorities to strengthen vulnerable points of the embankments in the district on war footing ahead of the floods.

Construction of Majuli-Jorhat connecting bridge, status of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, road construction, Ro-Pax ferry service to and from Jorhat, activities of agriculture department also came up for review in the meeting.

After assuming the charge of Chief Minister of the State, Sarma made his first visit to river island Majuli. The Chief Minister visited Vaishnavite monasteries of the river island.