Assam has not registered any fresh Covid-19 case for over 48 hours but the state government has not lowered its guard.
From imposing penalty for spitting or urinating in public places to maintaining sharp vigilance on inter-district borders, Dispur has left no stone unturned to check the spread of the pandemic.
On Sunday, the number of recovered patients climbed to 17 with the discharge of another five. Assam, which had 34 Covid-19 cases so far, has lowered the number of active cases to 16. One patient has died.
Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “Five more patients, including the city’s lone patient, was discharged today after they tested negative in consecutive tests. However, since the Spanish Garden apartment here, where the recovered businessman resides, is still a ‘containment zone’, he has been advised to shift to a hotel under medical observation.”
On Sunday, the Kamrup (metro) district administration extended the entry and exit restrictions in Spanish Garden for another 14 days as an extra precaution measure.
So far, the businessman was the lone case in the state having no connection with the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in New Delhi. Though the source of his infection is yet to be traced, the investigation found that he had possibly visited Agra a few days before the lockdown. The minister said since he has recovered now, more investigation into his travel history would reveal the details.
The day also saw Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) banning spitting and urinating in public places.
“Those found spitting and urinating in public in areas under the GMC will have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000,” a public notice by the corporation said.
The order came in compliance with the revised consolidated directives issued by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA), which made spitting in public spaces a punishable offence under Section 51 (b) of the Disaster Management Act.
On the other hand, Assam police are keeping a close watch on any possible movement from hotspots to non-hotspot areas in the state.
Nagaon superintendent of police Abhijeet Gurav said, “At least seven checkposts have been set up along the inter-district borders to ensure there is no movement of people from the red zones to other areas.”
Nagaon is adjoining to Morigaon district, which has been marked as a red zone, along with Golaghat, Nalbari, Dhubri and Goalpara, owing to the Covid-19 outbreak in these areas.
Sarma said, “All the districts marked as hotspots are performing well in terms of checking the spread of Covid-19. Hopefully, they will be out of the red zone soon.”
On the other hand, Dibrugarh police have started briefing officers of all police stations in the Upper Assam district regarding the new lockdown guidelines to be effective from Monday till May 3.
Superintendent of police Sreejith T. visited Dibrugarh Sadar police station on Saturday evening for the briefing session. “We have received new guidelines regarding the exemptions and restrictions. We have prepared the guidelines in Assamese also for better understanding by all security personnel,” he said.
On Sunday, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal thanked Sarma and all the emergency and essential service providers for the improvement of the state’s Covid-19 situation. “I thank them all for their constant hardwork and also urge the public to cooperate during the lockdown in full spirit,” he said.
Sonowal also called up several eminent personalities like linguist and folklore researcher Birendra Nath Dutta, former director-general of police Nishinath Changkakoti, scientist and educationist Kulendu Pathak and musicians Zubeen Garg and Angaraag Papon Mahanta on Sunday and enquired about their wellbeing.
Additional reporting by Sarat Sarma in Nagaon and Avik Chakraborty in Dibrugarh
