The Kamrup (metro) district administration on Friday suspended the operation of a bank in the city after it came to light that some Covid-19 patients had visited the branch recently.

All the employees and staff of the bank branch have been asked to undergo home quarantine and all of them would undergo a swab test.

The order issued by the district administration said: “As it has been ascertained that some Covid-19 positive patients have recently transacted money at Allahabad Bank, Machkhowa branch, Guwahati, in the interest of maintenance of public hygiene and to prevent further spread of Covid-19 virus, all kinds of transactions as well as administrative functions of Allahabad Bank, Machkhowa branch, Guwahati, is hereby prohibited with immediate effect.”

The order said the bank authorities would suspend all kinds of activities at the branch immediately and officials would be put under home quarantine till their swab test reports are available. District surveillance officials were ordered to collect samples from all the bank branch employees and also ascertain contacts of the staff.

On the other hand, contact-tracing has been started to find out some 70-80 people who could possibly have come in contact with a barber, who also tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday. The barber used to work in the Fancy Bazar area, which has virtually become the Covid-19 epicentre of the city.

Already, the adjoining areas of the hotel along with four other locations in the city, including the area where the barber was residing, have been declared as containment zones. The city currently has seven containment zones.

The bank branch which was shut down on Friday. (UB Photos)

Gauhati West legislator Ramendra Narayan Kalita said, “Police have been asked to ensure that nobody leaves or enters the containment zones. Residents of these areas have demanded free flow of food items and proper sanitisation measures.”

On Friday, besides the health department, rescuers of the 1st Battalion of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) carried out a sanitisation drive at several locations, including the BSNL office and office of Council of Baptist Churches in North East India.

The NDRF personnel also distributed food items among the needy.

The day also saw the commercial hub, Fancy Bazar, remaining shut for the second day, after Kamrup Chamber of Commerce had requested the traders to close their shops for three days to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission in the city.

Fancy Bazar came under strict surveillance after Covid-19 transmission was found have originated from the busy area.

On Wednesday, Assam recorded 15 Covid-19 positive cases on a single day after they were found to have contact history with one worker from the market, who had tested positive.