5140 in Silchar Medical College, 55,862 in the state; “Assam tested more than Kerala,” Himanta Biswa Sarma

For the first time, the Assam Government’s preparedness to fight the outbreak of COVID19 has come under question. In the last couple of days, the number of positive cases has increased manifold in the state to reach a total of 350 (as 1:45 PM). Today Health Minister of the state, Himanta Biswa Sarma decided to give a strong response to the ones questioning Assam’s effort.

Sarma posted on social media platforms, “In a strong testimony to excellent teamwork and our steely resolve to do the best in a crisis like COVID19, I am humbled to share that Assam has carried out 55862 tests so far. This is higher than Kerala’s (52771), a state known for its healthcare excellence.”

Sarma gave all the credits to the staff and technicians, “My congratulations to behind-the-curtain COVID Heroes – our lab technicians, scientists, microbiology faculty of medical colleges, and team Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Lahowal who make extraordinary efforts to make this happen. And most certainly kudos to our dedicated teams from the Health Department,” added Sarma.

The health minister added, “Our #COVID19 test break-up, as on May 23, 2020 is as follows:”

Jorhat Medical College & Hospital (JMCH) – 6334

Silchar Medical College & Hospital (SMCH) – 5140

Guwahati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH) – 15807

Assam Medical College & Hospital (AMCH) – 2502

Tezpur Medical College & Hospital (TMCH) – 6716

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College & Hospital (FAAMCH) – 12096

Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC)-ICMR – 7267

Himanta Biswa Sarma in his posts did not mention the timeline he was referring to when comparing the test-numbers of both the states. As per COVID19India.org, a website that tracks COVID cases and the number of tests conducted in India, the total number of tests done in Assam as of May 23, 2020, is 60,405 while that of Kerala stands at 60,443. The portal states that the number for Assam was last updated 14 hours back while they updated Kerala numbers 18 hours ago.