Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday urged the people of Assam to strictly follow the lockdown extension call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He was interacting with the media at his residence in Dibrugarh on the first day of Assamese New Year and Rongali Bihu.

Adding further, the CM appreciated the people of Assam for observing 21-day national lockdown call given by the Prime Minister to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country.

He also appreciated the roles played by the health department, food and civil supplies department, police, cleaners, ANM, Asha workers, etc. in containing coronavirus outbreak in Assam.

Sonowal also underlined the need to maintain hygiene practices like handwashing and social distancing norms to control coronavirus as no cure or vaccine has been found against the virus till now.

Urging the people not to take the lockdown measures lightly, Sonowal warned that any negligence to maintain lockdown would seriously impact the government’s efforts to prevent the outbreak and break the chain of spread.

“People of Assam have shown tremendous resilience and discipline till now against COVID-19,” Sonowal said.

“Many Assamese people were stuck at different places of the county and abroad during this festive season of Rongali Bihu. I request them all to patiently wait for the situation to improve and bad times to pass,” Sonowal added.

“It is important for you to stay wherever you are to ensure not just your safety, but also the safety of your loved ones,” Sonowal further said.

The CM also said that the state government is fully prepared to handle any steep rise in the number of patients in the coming days and he assured that the help of the people the state government would be able to overcome this challenge posed by COVID-19.