In view of the spread of coronavirus, the authorities of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) and Assam University have asked the students to vacate hostels by Tuesday. Classes and exams were suspended from Monday till the end of March.

The lawyers of the Silchar Bar Association have decided not to attend court till Saturday except in very urgent cases.

The director of Silchar NIT, Shivaji Bandapadhyay, said the students had been asked to vacate the hostels but 48 students from Bangladesh, Oman, Ethiopia, Nepal, Afghanistan and other countries, would stay inside the hostel under special care. He said that all foreign students had medical check-ups, but they would not be allowed to go out.

Bandapadhyay said the teachers, who were at present outside the region, would be asked to stay in home isolation for the next 14 days on their return.

At the Assam University in Silchar, the students were asked to vacate the hostels by Tuesday. The authorities have already suspended all classes and examinations till the end of March. All seminars and workshops have been postponed.

A senior university official informed that they had told the NFR authorities to arrange tickets for the students outside south Assam for their return home.

The joint director of health services in Cachar, Sudipjyoti Das, said they had started screening of all passengers at the inter-state bus terminus (ISBT) and the railway station in Silchar from Tuesday. Screening has also started at Kumbhirgram airport.

Hailakandi deputy commissioner Keerthi Jalli urged people not to assemble for holy bath in the traditional Barunimela in Siddeshwar Kapilmuni ashram at Thandapur of Panchgram on Saturday and Sunday. Udyam Samagam mela to be held this month in Hailakandi has been deferred due to advisories from Delhi and Dispur to avoid large gatherings.

This was decided in a district-level committee meeting at the office chamber of district development commissioner, Vikram Dev Sharma on Tuesday.

Luis Lisando, an Argentine national, was quarantined on Tuesday at Tikal Model Hospital in Cachar district. He was travelling in Silchar Guwahati Express. He recently travelled to Nepal and was to visit Myanmar. He, however, does not have symptoms of coronavirus. As precautionary measure he had been quarantined, said an official press release in Silchar.

Karimganj police have released two citizens of Ireland after screening them.