GUWAHATI: Assam health, finance and education minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that COVID-19 vaccine would be distributed free in the state.
“Vaccine will be obviously free in Assam. The Government of India has already decided to distribute the vaccine free of cost,” Dr. Sarma said on Friday at middle Assam’s Nagaon.
So far, Assam has recorded 2,03,282 COVID-19 cases. On Thursday, 508 cases were detected in the state. On the other hand, COVID-19 death toll went up to 896 after seven more people succumbed to the disease on Thursday.
Of the fresh fatalities, two were reported from Golaghat and one each from Kamrup Metropolitan, Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Jorhat and Sonitpur, he said.
“Very sad and anguished to inform that seven more COVID positive patients have succumbed to the disease….My condolences to all the families. We stand by you in this hour of grief,” Sarma said on Twitter.
The current fatality rate in the state stands at 0.44 per cent.
The 508 new cases include 101 from Kamrup Metropolitan district.
The northeastern state conducted 34,375 tests during the day, while the positivity rate is at 1.48 per cent.
Over 44.72 lakh sample tests for COVID-19 have been conducted in the state so far.
Meanwhile, 1,584 patients were cured of the disease during the day, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,77,659, the minister said.
The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state has increased to 87.39 per cent.
Assam now has 24,724 active cases, and three have migrated out of the state.
Altogether 1,717 recovered patients have donated their plasma in the five plasma banks of the state.
