Assam issues new COVID-19 guidelines for Rongali Bihu; check details here

GUWAHATI: The Government of Assam today notified a fresh set of guidelines for the ahead of the Bohag Bihu celebrations in the state, which is bound to draw massive crowds, and thereby increase the chances of transmission of the COVID-19 virus.

These guidelines will also be adhered to during the celebrations of Ramadan and Ram Navami in the state to mitigate the virus spread, the notification by the Health and Family Welfare department said.

• To organize festivals, the event organizers are to seek permission from the district administration of the concerned district for organizing any event resulting in public gathering mentioning the number of people likely to gather at the proposed event and the maximum capacity of the place/site where the event is proposed to be held.
• This is expected to enable the district administration to extend all possible support to the event organizers for a successful and safe celebration of the event.
• The programmes have to be concluded by 11 pm mandatorily.
• All the organizers and volunteers involved in the organization of functions and festivals must test themselves for COVID-19 3 days poor to and after the event.
• They will be able to take necessary assistance from the nearest government or private testing facility.
• The event site should be spacious and must be kept open from all sides.
• Also, the event area must have adequate space for the arrangement of physical distancing (as per COVID-19 protocol).
• There should be multiple entry and exit gates and they must be separate. Furthermore, organizers must take measures to "avoid crowding at all cost," stated the order.
• As an added measure, each and every participant should be screened for fever using thermal scanners by the volunteers and anyone having a higher temperature may be advised to report to the nearest health facility for testing and should not be allowed to enter the event area.
• Proper signage must be there from entry to exit so that visitors are guided to adhere to COVID appropriate behaviour once the participant enters the event area.
• The sitting arrangements should be made in such a way that required social distancing is maintained between the chairs. The directive further stated that in the case of fixed chairs, alternate seats may be considered.
• The organizers must also engage volunteers at different points inside the event area to help out visitors.
• The event organizers have also been asked to keep an adequate number of volunteers inside and outside the event area to ensure that visitors maintain physical distancing, wear masks property and sanitize hands while visiting the event area.
• Usage of masks and hand sanitiser has been made mandatory for visitors as well as organizers and hand sanitisers must be kept at the entrance.
• The event area must be sanitized twice dirty (once before the crowd gathers and once after the crowd eaves the venue) as a strict public hearth measure.

"With the fresh spike of COVID-19 cases in many states of the country, Assam has geared up its COVID management strategies and is taking up various need-based steps to contain the spread of COVID-19, while keeping the core principles of COVID-19 management, namely TESTING, TRACING and TREATING (3Ts) along with ramping up of vaccination for the eligible categories," the notification added.

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