Guwahati lockdown likely to be extended by another week: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati: With the denizens of Guwahati city watching on with bated breath, Assam health and finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today hinted that the ongoing lockdown imposed due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus is likely to be extended for one more week.

"Yesterday, representatives of the health department and the Kamrup (M) administration held discussions with representatives of the citizens. The representatives had urged for a 2-week extension, but the health department has informed the Assam Chief Secretary that a single week extension will be enough", Biswa Sarma told mediapersons here. Sarma said that there will likely be a phased re-opening of the city, after which the Government will allow the state-of-affairs to return to normal.

"I have urged the Chief Secretary to hold prior discussions with the MPs and MLAs so that the decision is based on consensus", Himanta Biswa Sarma said, adding that the formal decision in this regard will be announced tomorrow by the Chief Secretary, Kumar Sanjay Krishna.

Addressing the press, Sarma also announced that one-tenth of the population of Guwahati city has been tested. "The total population of Guwahati is 10 lakh, and there are some people who come and go. We have now been able to conduct 96,686 tests", Sarma said, adding, "It is a remarkable achievement for the city as well as for Assam, that one-tenth of the population has already been tested."

Sarma also informed that 21% of the people who have been testing using the rapid antigen method have tested positive for the virus. "COVID-19 is very active in Guwahati city, but the positivity rate has come down from 30% to 21%", Sarma informed, adding, the "only" 2.15% of the re-tests (done using the RT-PCR method) have tested positive. He also stated that the antigen tests have been reliable thus far, as they have been more or less accurate. "Thus, the people can rely on it", Sarma said.

To treat patients in the city, one more COVID-19 care centre with 800-beds set up at the Don Bosco School and the Rani Lakhshmibai Physical Education campus, Sarma said. "We will soon have 4,000 beds to treat COVID-19 patients. At the moment, 2,156 patients have been admitted to hospitals", Sarma said.

The lockdown in Guwahati was originally envisaged as a solution to control the rampant spread of the viral disease in the buzzing metropolis. A red alert was sounded after several cases without any travel history were detected in the city, after which the city went into lockdown at the stroke of midnight on Sunday, June 28.

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