Assam Govt decides to relax curfew hours in districts with dropping COVID-19 cases

GUWAHATI: The Assam government has decided to lift curfew hours for at least one hour across the state, with the exception of ‘vulnerable' districts where COVID-19 cases have been reported to be on the rise.

The state chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today said that except the seven vulnerable districts, curfew will be imposed from 4 pm from Wednesday onwards.

A fresh standard operating protocol (SOP) to arrest the spread of the COVID-19 is likely to issue within Tuesday next week.

CM Sarma said, “The COVID-19 outbreak in the districts of Goalpara, Golaghat, Jorhat, Sonitpur, Biswanath, Lakhimpur, and Morigaon continues to be worrying. Except for these districts, all other districts will be allowed to remain open till 3 pm from next Wednesday. Curfew in these districts will start from 4 pm, which will be a relaxation for one hour.”

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On the other hand, two other districts, Sivasagar and Dibrugarh, are already kept under close watch.

However, a curfew from 5 pm in the city may continue till further orders, the chief minister said.

In light of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the state government announced a complete lockdown in the state's seven districts until further orders.

He further stated that ground investigations from the most vulnerable districts revealed that ‘Sulai ghatis' (illegal rural liquor sale and consumption dens) were the primary cause of the COVID outbreak.

“In liquor shops, people buy and leave but in Sulai ghatis, many assemble and drink which fueling the spread of the virus. On Friday, the state government has ordered to destroy all such sites,” the CM added.

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