Guwahati: Epicentre of Covid-19 in state?

 4,189 fresh cases in 11 days in the city

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Guwahati seems to be the epicentre of Covid-19 in the state in the ongoing third wave. The situation is fraught with the risk of the virus spreading from Guwahati to other districts.

The capital city registered 4,189 fresh Covid-19 cases in the past 11 days. It is a ten-fold increase in the daily rise in Covid cases. On January 1, the city registered 76 Covid-19 cases. And on January 10, the number of Covid positive people in the city rose to 760. Four hundred sixty-two infected people were in various hospitals in the city in the past ten days.

Even after such a situation, the protocol has gone for a toss in the city. The Health Department detected the maximum Covid-19 positive cases in Chandmari, Rajgarh, Paltan Bazar, Basisthapur etc.

Since people are leaving Guwahati to their native villages for the Bihu, the authorities apprehend that people may carry the virus to other districts and far-flung areas in the state. Sources also say that the pace of Covid testing in the state is not as fast as the Covid positivity rate. On average, the authorities tested around 30,000 people daily in the state in the past few days. The positivity rate, on the contrary, has been near four per cent on average during the period. The authorities apprehend the likelihood of more Covid positive people in the state roaming free.

Senior citizen Satish Choudhury said, "It seems as though we are waiting for the worst situation to come. We see the police asking people to wear masks and maintain social distancing through mikes. They wash their hands by doing that."

Another senior citizen Ramesh Das said, "City buses and share mini taxis seem to be the worst carrier of the virus. People from diverse walks of life and places travel by these two modes of transportation that do not follow the Covid-19 protocol. They carry passengers overcrowded without a mask. They also don't sanitize their vehicles regularly. The police play the role of mute spectators even now when these things happen under their very nose."

Dipika Das, a housewife, said, "One can see the violation of Covid-19 protocols at the daily markets at Ganeshguri, Fatasil Ambari, Chandmari Colony, Fancy Bazar etc., in the city. We don't see anyone from the district administration to check it. The virus is spreading fast. And the casual attitude of a section of people and the district authorities is responsible for this."

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