Lockdown in 11 wards of Guwahati city from 9 PM today. Here are the details

Guwahati: To arrest the spread of the Covid-19, Kamrup (Metro) Deputy Commissioner Biswajit Pegu today confirmed that areas in 11 wards of Guwahati city shall be placed under a lockdown yet again from 9 PM tonight.

This development comes a day after Assam Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that 144 cases without travel history have been detected in the city since targetted surveillance was brought into effect in a bid to contain the virus spread. Sarma also added that on average, 400-500 people have been going for regular screenings at the facilities which have been opened up to collect samples. "Nobody had said anything for them, people are coming due to their own anxiety. Out of these, we got 114 positive cases. If they had not come forward, we would not have gotten these cases."

After the Health Minister's admission that several areas of the city would now be under the scanner, there were whispers that another lockdown could once again be enforced in the city.

Confirming the lockdown, the DC today said that this decision has been taken by the Government because there is a large scale spread of Covid-19 affected cases among the general public of certain areas of Guwahati city which pose a major threat to public health and safety of the general population. He further added that the lockdown will initially be clamped for a period of 14 days, but could be extended further.

"The order shall come into effect from 9 pm today, and will remain in force until further orders", Pegu informed the press in Guwahati moments earlier.

It needs mention here that Health Minister Biswa Sarma has said that the connection with Fancy Bazar is a 'common thread' in the cases without travel history. "Fancy Bazar is a common cause of concern. Additionally, Pandu, Maligaon, Machkhowa, Fancy Bazar, and the 15, 16 wards have emerged as coronavirus hotspots in the city", he said.

Meanwhile, amid the return of stranded citizens, the number of Covid-19 cases has been rising at an unprecedented rate in Assam. To date, 5,853 cases of the virus have been reported in Assam, out of which 2,276 cases are currently active. Guwahati, the biggest urban center in the state, had reported over 400 cases till yesterday, the health ministry had said.

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