Guwahati: Kumar Sanjay Krishna, the Chief Secretary of Assam, today announced the new rules and regulations that shall be observed in Guwahati city during the Unlock 1.0, which will come into effect on Monday, July 20.
Here are the new rules and restrictions that will come into effect in the Kamrup (M) region from Monday onwards:
"We are asking the health department to conduct random tests. For instance, if a shop is open, the health department will go and conduct random testings", the Chief Secretary of Assam further informed, indicating the random testings might soon become the order of the day in Guwahati.
The lockdown in the Kamrup (M) locality was originally brought into effect at the stroke of midnight on Sunday, June 28. Originally announced for 2 weeks, the lockdown was originally called for 2 weeks but was later extended owing to the continuing rise in the number of COVID-19 cases. Before announcing the provisions of the Guwahati Unlock 1.0, the Chief Secretary of Assam invited public opinion from citizens and promised to implement the ones that were feasible.
Lockdowns have also been imposed in several regions of Assam following a rapid surge in the number of COVID-19 cases as well as deaths. Initially, the focus was on Guwahati city, where the number of deaths has rocketed beyond 20, but now, other smaller towns like Jorhat have also raised the alarm. Yesterday alone, 92 COVID-19 cases were detected in Jorhat – the largest single-day spike – and 10 areas have been demarcated as Containment Zone.
Yesterday, 1,218 more COVID-19 cases were detected in Assam, out of which 570 cases were reported from Guwahati. With this spike in the number of cases, the tally stood at 21,864 with 7,705 of the cases 'active' ones. Patients were discharged throughout the day and in total, 551 people were sent home after recovering from the dreaded disease.