COVID-19: Assam puts 391 students back from Kota into quarantine

A total of 391 students, who returned from Kota in Rajasthan, a COVID-19 'Red Zone' were put into quarantine here on Monday.

A group of Assam police personnel, who accompanied the students from Kota, were also put into quarantine.

The students, who hired 17 buses from Kota, a coaching hub reached Guwahati at 3:00 am after more than 2,000km of travel.

"After a long journey from Kota, 391 children are back, with smiles & cheers. To ensure they & their families remain safe, we are putting them into 14-days quarantine," Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted after receiving them at Sarusajai sports complex here.

The boys have been quarantined in the facility inside the sports complex while the girls were provided quarantine facility in two hotels near the complex. "The students can not come out to the lobby or any other common space during their quarantine. They must be inside their rooms and our officers will be there to help them with whatever they require," Sarma said.

Their swab samples will be collected after five days and those testing negative are likely to be allowed to go home for home quarantine for another nine days.

Kota is a coaching hub where medical and engineering aspirants from different parts of the country go every year in large numbers to prepare for competitive exams. Parents of these students had sought permission from the state government for their return amid the lockdown. They also incurred the bus fare (Rs.7,000 per head). The state government, however, sent a team of policemen to Kota by a chartered flight to accompany them.

The students so far have not shown any symptom of COVID-19, officials said.

Assam has reported 35 COVID-19 positive cases so far, of which one died. However, 27 others have been discharged from the hospital after they tested negative after their days in hospitals. Seven others are still in hospitals.