Tinsukia: The four-and-a-half-year-old child, who tested positive for coronavirus at Jorhat Medical College Centre (JMCH) in Assam’s Jorhat district on Saturday, was declared negative by the Regional Viral Research & Diagnostic Laboratory of the ICMR-RMRC in Lahoal, Dibrugarh on Sunday, making Northeast India free from any positive case of the deadly virus so far.
The development comes at a time when India recorded 80 positive cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours taking the tally to 332, and a day after Italy recorded 793 deaths related to COVID-19, the highest deaths reported in a single day.
Confirming the development, Jorhat deputy commissioner Roshani A Korati said that the final test report of the child’s samples by ICMR has been found to be negative. “The doctors will take a call whether they will continue to be in isolation ward as precautionary measures or will be released,” Korati added.
The girl, hailing from Begusaria in Bihar, had come to her maternal grandparents’ residence in Pulibor with her mother and sister. The family travelled in train and reached Jorhat on March 18.
Assam finance and health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted at 7.19 am on Sunday: The 4 year old child who was suspected of #covid19 and tested in Jorhat Medical College and RMRC, Dibrugarh has been found NEGATIVE. There is no Covid19 positive case in Assam so far.
The 4 year old child who was suspected of #covid19 and tested in Jorhat Medical College and RMRC, Dibrugarh has been found NEGATIVE. There is no Covid19 positive case in Assam so far. pic.twitter.com/u2pqoJnwTe
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) March 22, 2020
The development has also raised question on the testing standard at JMCH laboratory. The global death toll on Sunday crossed 13,000 with over 3 lakh positive cases.
