No mandatory Covid testing in Assam from Tuesday

Guwahati, Feb 14 The Assam government has decided to discontinue the mandatory testing for Covid-19 at airports, railway stations, other entry points and hospitals from Tuesday, and people with symptoms have been requested to conduct tests on a voluntary basis, officials said on Monday.

The Principal Secretary in the Health and Family Welfare Department, Anurag Goel, said in a notification that Covid positivity is gradually decreasing in the state and the country.

The notification said that the number of people vaccinated twice in the country has increased significantly and various relaxations have been allowed by the government of India and leading health institutions like AIIMS in New Delhi in view of the decreasing number of Covid cases and the difficulties faced due to testing protocols in emergency departments.

"These instructions are issued in better public interest in view of the evolving situation of the Covid pandemic and shall be liable for change if required as per the SOPs and guidelines issued by the government of India and the eventual situation of Covid-19 in the country and the state," it said.

The state's daily positivity rate has reduced from 4 per cent to 0.83 per cent during the past two weeks, as per the Health and Family Welfare Department report.

As on Sunday night, the state had 2,499 active cases, with the recovery rate increasing to 98.56 per cent against the national recovery rate of 97.68 per cent.