108 ambulance service employee in Guwahati tests COVID-19 positive

Guwahati: In a latest development, an employee of the 108 Mrityunjoy ambulance service has tested positive for the dreaded Covid-19 virus.

The Covid-19 positive man is reportedly a member of the Emergency Response Office (ERO) in GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute's head office in Guwahati's Lokhra locality. The detection of this particular case extra significance as it is the first case of an ambulance worker getting infected with the virus in Assam. 

The rise in Covid-19 cases in the Assam capital, meanwhile, has prompted the Government to clamp a total lockdown across the urban area. With the situation in other areas of the state getting better because of the rise in the number of recoveries, the situation remains grim in Guwahati. Out of 273 positive cases that were detected in the state yesterday, 203 were from Guwahati.

At the same time, the state's health department has reported an alarming number of cases that have spread at the community level, which came to light after the administration started a targeted surveillance program.

Consequently, keeping everything in mind, the health department headed by BJP troubleshooter Himanta Biswa Sarma decided to impose yet another lockdown to arrest the spread of the contagious disease. This lockdown is expected to be the sternest one yet, and for 1 week, no services barring medical ones will be allowed and movement will be strictly prohibited.

At the same time, the entry of people into Guwahati shall be largely restricted owing to the lockdown. City Police Commissioner Munna Prasad Gupta during a presser today said that only 3 categories of people will be allowed to enter the city during the total lockdown period. "First, the people who have to come to Guwahati to board flights, secondly, the people who have to board trains, and thirdly, those who have come to the city due to some medical emergencies."

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