“Assam so far is Corona free; Need to be extra cautious till April 6,” Himanta Biswa Sarma 

The Covid19 virus is spreading fast all across the globe and in India it has infected more than 200 people claiming four lives. The Ministry Of Health and Family Welfare has already rolled out a set of precautionary measures and asked the State Governments to ensure social distancing. Health minister of Assam too has issued certain instructions and mandated the district administrations to ensure they are strictly followed.

A while back, the Health Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma had called for a press conference to inform the residents of the state about the current scenario. He reiterated that the best way to fight the Corona pandemic is by following instructions and restricting social gatherings. The minister informed that so far 57 samples have been tested in Assam comprising of one British citizen, six residents of Manipur, six of Mizoram and one of Meghalaya, remaining from various parts of Assam.

“So far, by god’s grace and the contribution of the residents of the state and the region, all tests taken are negative. Assam so far is Corona free. However, we all need to be extra cautious till April 6 and that is the critical period,” said the minister. He explained why it is critical until April 6, “This virus cannot grow in Assam it has to come along with someone who is traveling from outside. What we have noticed so far is that the people staying elsewhere have either already returned or are on their way back. Our estimate is by March 22, all of them will be in and the footfalls in airports and stations will drop. So, it is critical for a period of 14 days once they have entered the state from outside i.e from March 22 to April 5, 2020.”

Sarma appealed to the population of the state to cooperate with the government and strictly follow the instructions. He said only 50 per cent of the workforce in government offices should report to work and the remaining 50 per cent should work from home. He said it is the responsibility of the head of the office to create a time table and make it effective from tomorrow. Meanwhile, Sarma who is also the education minister of the state announced that all exams of private or government schools, colleges, universities remain postponed till no earlier than March 31, 2020.

The minister informed that starting from the day after tomorrow, the state government will deploy resources to stamp people traveling from other states or countries by airways, railways or roadways. The stamp, he said will read, “I volunteer to remain home quarantined for a period of 14 days”. Sarma believes the stamp will generate awareness at a society level and if a stamped person is found roaming around, the neighbourhood can then distance themselves from the person at the same time ask the person to stay at home.