Assam declares 7 districts as containment zones, retains restrictions in others as Covid-19 cases surge

The government imposed a round-the-clock curfew in Goalpara, Golaghat, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Biswanath and Morigaon

The Assam government on Tuesday declared seven districts as containment zones for a week and retained the restrictions in the rest of the districts in view of rising Covid-19 cases, particularly in rural areas.

Health Minister Keshav Mahanta told reporters in Guwahati that as containment zones, there would be complete restrictions on the movement of people in Golaghat, Jorhat, Morigaon, Sonitpur, Biswanath, Lakhimpur and Goalpara districts, barring essential services and some other activities.

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"The decision has been taken after an assessment based on the number of cases in the past 10 days. In Golaghat alone, we witnessed over 2,700 Covid-19 cases. Similarly, in the six other, cases ranging between 1,500 to 600 have been witnessed. The cases are more particularly in the tea gardens and rural areas," Mahanta said.

"Activities in tea gardens and factories will be allowed with Covid-19 safety protocols. In the next one week, the Deputy Commissioners will carry out 100 per cent tests and vaccination and take other necessary steps to contain the number of cases in these seven districts," he said.

The curfew will be enforced between 2 pm to 5 am in 16 districts. These districts include Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Nalbari, Baksa, Bajali, Kamrup, Darang, Nagaon, Hojai, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Cachar, Karimganj and Karbi Anglong. The curfew would be in place from 5 pm to 5 am in 11 other districts — Dhubri, Kamrup Metro, South Salmara, Majuli, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Udalguri, West Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao, Charaideo, and Hailakandi where the Covid-19 situation has improved.

The inter-state movement would continue to remain suspended in view of the increase in Covid-19 cases in several districts. "Other restrictions which were earlier imposed like the closure of educational institutions would remain same," Mahanta said.

Assam on Monday reported 2,640 new Covid-19 positive cases and 31 deaths, which was 2.27 per cent of the 1.30 lakh tests. The state at present has over 22,000 active cases.