8 new COVID-19 cases in Assam; total 53

Eight people, four each in Guwahati and Silchar, tested positive for COVID-19 in Assam on Thursday, taking the number of cases in the state to 53, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

There are 18 active cases of the novel coronavirus pandemic in the state, while 34 people have recovered so far, Sarma said.

"Four persons in Guwahati test #COVID19+ One of them had come from outside Assam, and is in home quarantine, while 3 are from Guwahati," he tweeted.

"Four persons, who took the same bus from Rajasthan in which the Cachar dist #COVID19+ person travelled, have tested positive too," Sarma added.

The person who tested positive in Silchar on Wednesday night has cases pending against him in Sonitpur district. Police are investigating how he managed to reach Ajmer in Rajasthan and return to Silchar in a bus, Sarma told reporters.

A bus carrying 42 passengers had arrived in Silchar from Ajmer. Samples of one of the passengers tested positive for COVID-19, following which certain areas