Guwahati/Agartala, Jul 11 (IANS): Assam on Friday reported eight more Covid-19 deaths, taking the state's death toll to 35, while the total number of positive cases stood at 14,600, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Of the eight fresh deaths – six men and two women -- seven people died at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital while a 53-year-old non-symptomatic patient died at a Covid care centre.

With the addition of hundreds of fresh cases on a regular basis, the number of Covid-19 cases in the state jumped to 14,600, of which 5,423 are active cases while 9,147 persons have recovered from the disease.

Sarma said in a tweet: "Kudos to our (health) team for having surged ahead aggressively with Covid-19 tests -- finest method tracking the infected people, so that eventually the pandemic can be brought under control. Today (Friday) the test figures reached 525,485. I request all to come forward for testing."

"With a big rise in Covid-19 cases, Guwahati, Assam and northeast India's main commercial city, has entered the 'real pandemic phase' with community transmission being witnessed," the Health Minister said.

In just 11 days, coronavirus cases in the Kamrup (Metro) district jumped to around 3,000 from 63. Guwahati, headquarters of the Kamrup (Metro) district, is home to 11.20 lakh people. The state government has announced a 14-day "complete lockdown" in the district from June 28 midnight to check the virus spread.

The Minister said that after the withdrawal of public travel restrictions on May 4, over 3.12 lakh people returned to Assam by road, train and air from different parts of the country, causing the sharp rise the number of cases in the state.

In Agartala, Tripura's Law and Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that from Friday, rapid antigen tests are being conducted on all those who are coming into the state from other parts of the country.

"Tripura government has already decided to conduct rapid antigen tests in the state's 28 containment zones and at all the entry points, including Agartala Airport, following a spike in Covid-19 cases," Nath, who is the spokesman of the state government, told the media.

According to the Minister, 1,790 Covid-19 positive cases have been found in Tripura of which 402 are active cases. One person has died of the disease.