No fresh wave of COVID-19 in Assam; lockdown not happening: Himanta Biswa Sarma

GUWAHATI: Assam's health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has confirmed that there has been no recent surge in the number of COVID-19 cases, as reported in various sections of the media. At the same time, the Minister ruled out the possibility of clamping another lockdown in the poll-bound state.

 

"No new COVID-19 surge has been reported in Assam. There are many reports in newspapers that the visus has see a surge in Assam, which is not the case. Yesterday, 14 cases were detected and a day earlier, 7 cases were detected. Therefore, as per my knowledge, there is no need to panic," the Minister said.

 

"Daily, we have been detecting 10-20 cases each day for the past one month. I believe we will continue to detect a small number of cases each day as long as the pandemic persists. Although some regions in India have clamped lockdowns, but there are no such plans in Assam," he added.

 

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On 24 March 2020, the Government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21 days, limiting movement of the entire 1.3 billion population of India as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

 

Assam, which reported its first case of the contagion on March 31, also witnessed a stringent lockdown. A series of subsequent lockdowns was imposed in Guwahati city -- the urban epicentre -- after a dramatic surge in the number of serious cases.

 

Meanwhile, the government has ordered strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols in the state following the detection of fresh cases.

 

Assam Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua has issued an order saying that Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines for surveillance and containment would come into force in the state immediately.

 

According to Health Ministry data, 1,55,054 healthcare and frontline workers of the state have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine while 11,118 beneficiaries have received the second dose so far.