Assam: All Golaghat Shops to be Shut Down for 2 Days Amid Surge in COVID Cases

Golaghat District Shops to be Shut for Two Days

GUWAHATI:

Due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, the district administration of Golaghat has ordered a two-day closure of grocery stores, retail stores, and vegetable and fruit vendors. Pharmacy and milk vending machines, on the other hand, will stay open.

The order, issued under the regulations of "The Assam Covid-19 Regulations, 2020 of Section 2(1), stated that any violation of the order will always invite action under the provisions of the Assam Covid-19 Containment Regulations, 2020 and Disaster Management Act, 2005, in addition to U/S 188 IPC and other relevant laws. 

Golaghat has been the worst COVID-hit district in Assam reporting the highest number of COVID cases in the state, with 180 fresh cases reported as of Sunday. As of now, the district has over 2,474 COVID cases. 

Meanwhile, the Assam government is all set to implement new revised SOP on Wednesday, and inter-district travelling will remain to be suspended. According to CM Sarma, curfew hours would be eased from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in districts where the COVID19 situation is improving. 

According to chief minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the COVID19 situation in Assam has not improved enough to allow for inter-district movement of people. CM Sarma believes that allowing inter-district mobility of people would lead to increased transmission of the fatal contagious virus, and that we will return to the catastrophic scenario with an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases as in the past. 

"We have kept the inter-district travel suspended. We are not in a situation to open inter-district travel. Movement of people among the districts will lead to further transmission of COVID19 from one district to the other. This will take us back to the same situation we were in earlier. Only when the COVID19 infection rate comes down in the districts we will think about opening travel," said the Assam CM. 

The curfew durations in Kamrup (Metro) will stay the same, from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m., until the COVID19 daily cases exceed 250. According to the Assam CM, not all cases can be counted from Kamrup (Metro), because individuals come from surrounding districts for treatment and are counted.

Meanwhile, Assam recorded 1,579 fresh COVID cases as of Sunday, taking the total COVID cases in Assam to 5,33,663. With 16 COVID-19 induced fatalities reported in the last 24 hours, the death toll reaches 4,828. The active cases in the state now stands at 19,972.

Also Read - Assam: New SOP to be Issued on Wednesday, Inter-District Movement to Remain Suspended