Guwahati, July 19 (PTI) The death toll due to COVID-19 in Assam reached 57 on Sunday with four more fatalities, while the total number of cases mounted to 22,981, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

A 46-year old Assam Rifles jawan died due to COVID-19 in Silchar, a 74-year-old man passed away in Tinsuika and two fatalities were reported from Kamrup Metropolitan district.

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"In an irreparable loss to four families, I am anguished to share that four person have succumbed to #COVID19. My heartfelt condolences,” the minister tweeted.

The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 has reached 57, the Death Audit Bureau confirmed.

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Of the total 22,981 cases, 7,760 are active cases and a total of 15,165 people have recovered from the infection, while three have migrated out of the state.

Meanwhile, 70 COVID-19 cases have been reported from Assam's Raj Bhavan, already declared as a containment zone, while the BJP MLA from Sonari, the superintendent of Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) and the Tinsukia deputy commissioner have also tested positive for coronavirus, an official said on Sunday.

Of the 70 cases in Raj Bhavan, 27 were detected on Saturday night while 43, including the Commissioner and Secretary to the governor, Meenakshi Sundaram, have tested positive for the virus over a period since July 1, a Raj Bhavan official said.

The entire Raj Bhavan campus was declared a containment zone on July 4 after two staff members of the governor's office had tested positive for the virus.

BJP's Sonari MLA Nabanita Handique became the fourth party legislator to test positive for COVID-19 in Assam.

The legislator's son, driver and a personal assistant had earlier tested positive for the virus while her test results came on Sunday as positive, an official of Charaideo district said.

The other BJP MLAs to test positive are Patharkandi's Krishnendu Paul, Naryan Deka of Borkhetry and Bolin Chetia from Sadiya.

Another prominent politician of the state to test positive was the All India Mahila Congress president and former Silchar MP Sushmita Dev. She was admitted to Silchar Medical College Hospital on July 8.

On Sunday, she was released from hospital after she tested negative. After GMCH Superintendent Dr Abhijeet Sharma tested positive for COVID-19, swab samples of other doctors and nurses who came in contact with him are being tested, a senior doctor said.

Tinsukia Deputy Commissioner Bhaskar Pegu has also tested positive and his residence and office have been declared as a containment zone, a senior district administration official said.

Assam's Minister of State for Labour and Tinsukia MLA Sanjay Kishan, who attended a programme with the deputy commissioner on Saturday, has gone for self quarantine till he receives his test results.

Pegu is the second deputy commissioner after Udalguri's P R Gharphalia to test positive for COVID-19.

Several other senior bureaucrats of the Assam government and their family members have also tested positive for the pathogen.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)