Guwahati: 15 State Bank employees test Covid-19 positive

Guwahati: In a latest development, at least 15 employees of two branches of the State Bank of India (in Fancy Bazar and Lokhra) have tested Covid-19 positive, said reports.

After the 15 Guwahati bankers tested positive, their colleagues also came under the scanner for their close proximity to the afflicted persons, and now, they have been put under quarantine.

This has come at a time when the city has come under the scanner for reporting a massive number of Covid-19 cases in the recent past.

Ever since the state entered phase 2 of the coronavirus outbreak with the return of citizens who were stranded amid the lockdown, the city has reported once case after another. This turn-of-events has worried the citizenry and the administration alike. To arrest the spread of the contagion, dozens of areas across the urban area have been demarcated as Containment Zone.

Things took an even more concerning turn when Assam Health Minister, hinting at a community transmission, reported that there are several cases in Guwahati which do not have any travel history. A massive drive under the name of the Assam Targetted Surveillance Programme to demarcate volatile regions was carried out, and the possibility of lockdown was floated.

After 144 Covid-19 positive cases were detected in a matter of days, the district administration sprang into action and imposed a complete lockdown in as many as 11 wards under the city, which came into effect on Tuesday. This new phase of lockdown in the most volatile areas will see an even more stringent observation of the norms, rules, and regulations.

Meanwhile, 6,056 Covid-19 cases have been detected in Assam so far. While 3,762 people have been discharged, 2,282 people are 'active' and under observation. 9 people have died so far due to complications from the illness.

Also watch: Murder in Betjan Tea Estate; Chowkidaar found murdered