Guwahati: There have been reports of various Assamese artists violating the COVID-19 protocols during their live shows on the occasion of the festival of Rongali Bihu.
Meanwhile, the Government of Assam had recently issued a standard operation protocol (SOP) which ought to be strictly adhered to by all parties keeping in mind that India is under the demonic grasp of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the reports, among the artists who violated the SOP issued by the government are multi-talented Assamese actor and singer Deeplina Deka who performed at Hajo till 11:25 PM, Sanjay Das is popularly known as Neil Akash who performed at Kharguli till 11:30 PM, popular vocalist Priyanka Bharali who performed till 1 AM at Pandu, singer Gitanjali Das who performed at Noonmati till 12 AM and singer Achurjya Borpatra who performed on stage till 11.55 PM in Baragaon.
Recently, Assam Health Minister warned the Bihu Committees threatening to file FIR against them if they fail to adhere to the COVID-19 protocol and the standard operating procedure (SOP) as issued by the government. He said that if any Bihu function happens to extend beyond the designated time of 11 PM, FIR would be lodged against the Bihu organizing committee.
Sarma said, "Those who point fingers at the law will unnecessarily have to run to the court for 3-4 years."
During one of his election campaigns where large crowds gathered, Himanta Biswa Sarma told people that the Covid situation in Assam was way better than the other states and wearing masks was not necessary. However, Sarma started taking the COVID situation seriously only after April 6, 2021, when polling for the third phase of the Assam Assembly election 2021 was over.
Assam on April 15 reported 499 new cases of COVID-19, pushing the active cases to 3,613. Kamrup Metro reported 255 fresh cases, followed by Dibrugarh at 64, Kamrup Rural at 31, and Tinsukia at 24. The positivity rate stands at 2.72 percent.
Meanwhile, on Friday, India recorded the highest single-day spike with 2,17,353 fresh COVID with 1,185 deaths reported in the last 24 hours pushing the country's death count to 1,74,308. The total tally of active caseloads in the country amounts to over 1.42 crore. This is the sixth straight day where more than 1.5 lakh cases were reported in this country.
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