Guwahati, Jul 25 (PTI) A 65-year-old man died due to COVID-19 in Assam on Saturday, taking the death toll to 77, while the state's tally climbed to 29,921, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The man, who was from Nagaon, died at Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH), the minister said. "Very sad to share that another #COVID19 patient, of Nagaon, succumbed to his infection today. He was admitted at GMCH. I feel extremely sorry for this loss to the family. Condolences," Sarma tweeted.

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There are 8,081 active cases while 21,761 have recovered and three infected people migrated out of the state. The state's health and family welfare department has also decided that due to the evolving situation, the period of home quarantine shall be reduced from 14 to seven days, an order issued by the department's Principal Secretary Samir Sinha said.

The state government needs to optimally utilise the resources at its disposal for core activities of testing and treatment of COVID-19.

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"Therefore, it has been decided that the essential items worth Rs 2000 for quarantined families will from now be provided only to families of the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category," the order stated. Deputy Commissioners, however, are authorised to extend this benefit to other families like the elderly, ailing, persons with disabilities, if necessary to mitigate hardship, it added.

The minister said the state has achieved a new benchmark to meet the challenge of the pandemic by setting up 16 testing laboratories since February when there was only one.

"Assam has scaled a new benchmark in stepping up our infrastructure to meet the challenge of pandemic. From one in February, over the next 24 weeks, we managed to set up 16 Viral Research and Diagnostic (Level 2) laboratories with the manifold rise in our testing abilities," Sarma tweeted.

A 40-bedded dedicated COVID-19 hospital only for women and children will soon become functional at Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH), he said.

"Pleased to share that a 40-bed dedicated #Covid19 Hospital only for women and children at MMCH will get functional soon. Visited the Hospital and reviewed ongoing work and facilities," Sarma tweeted.

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