Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said a low coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) infection rate could indicate the State was heading in the right direction or the worst was over.
But a clearer picture on the novel coronavirus outbreak in the State would emerge after August 15, he insisted.
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“The COVID-19 positivity rate in the State has remained under 5% despite many tests being conducted. So we are either going the right way as far as peaking of the pandemic is concerned or the worst is behind us,” Dr. Sarma told journalists on Wednesday.
“But we will get a clearer picture after August 15,” he said, adding that the COVID-19 death rate of 0.24% in the State had been lower than the national and international averages.
Till Tuesday evening, 64,406 people had tested COVID-19 positive in Assam, out of whom 155 died.
Panel report leak
The Minister also took a swipe at the All Assam Students’ Union for leaking the confidential report of the high-powered committee on the implementation of Clause 6 of the 1985 Assam Accord.
“They shouldn’t have made the contents public out of impatience. They should also realise that a few members of a panel cannot define the Assamese people. That is the job of members of the State Assembly, not even the Central government,” he said.
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The Clause 6 committee had defined “Assamese people” as those who have been living within the geographical confines of Assam on or before January 1, 1951.
The definition of Assamese people has been eluding political, social, cultural and literary groups for decades primarily because of the ethnic and linguistic diversity in the State.
