Guwahati: Two police constables in the Jorhat SP office tested COVID-19 positive on Friday, prompting the district administration to send Superintendent of Police Mrinal Talukdar as well as two additional SPs to head for home quarantine.
Meanwhile, the two constables have been taken to the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) for treatment purposes. To trace, track, and contain the virus, the swab samples of all the employees in the office have been collected and were sent for testing. Additionally, the entire office complex has been sanitized.
This development has come to the fore at a time when the Upper Assam town is seeing a dramatic surge in Covid-19 cases, out of which many have been recorded at the community level without travel history. Jorhat deputy commissioner Roshni A Korati has said that 17 positive cases have been detected in the past few days alone.
The district administration, taking cognizance of these signs, has decided to extend the weekend lockdown to the suburban areas as well. In addition, the earlier rule of 50 percent shops opening on one day and the other 50 percent on the other day would again come into effect.
At the same time, the number of men in uniform infected with the virus strain has also continued to rise at a steady pace. The number of Assam Police personnel infected by the dreaded Covid-19 has now risen to 95. Out of these, 19 patients have already recovered. "As on July 2nd, Assam Police 95 personnel tested COVID positive out of which 19 have recovered, 1,112 are in quarantine. All are in good health", ADGP (Law & Order) GP Singh, stated in a tweet yesterday.