While the Union health ministry has issued fresh guidelines to contain the second wave of Covid-19, Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that there is absolutely no reason for a lockdown as there are minimal cases in the state.
The health minister flatly refused to take into consideration the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in the state, saying that only about 30 cases are being detected on daily basis.
“There will be no lockdown in Assam. About 3,500 cases were detected on a daily basis when Covid-19 was at its peak in the state and now only about 30 cases are being detected per day,” said Himanta Biswa Sarma.
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“Earlier people did not venture out of their homes for fear of contacting the novel coronavirus. Now the situation has improved to such an extent that people no longer wear masks,” said Sarma while addressing an election rally in Lumding constituency in Nagaon district.
He seemed to have ignored the fact that less numbers of positive cases are coming to light as the state government closed down majority of the Covid-19 testing centres across the state.
The huge election rallies being conducted ahead of the Assam Assembly elections in the state are becoming a major point of infection with people not adhering to even basic protocols like wearing face masks and using hand sanitizers.
His statement also came at a time when the state health department has issued standard operating procedures that are to be followed to curb the fast spread of the deadly virus.
Covid-19 testing of passengers in all railway stations and airports in the state are to continue until further orders by the state health department.
According to the latest data, 40 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.
The total number of positive cases is 2,18,139 , of which 389 are active cases.
The virus has claimed 1,104 cases in the state.