Assam Lockdown: Violation could Land one in Jail for Upto 2 Years, Confims Health Minister

Guwahati, March 23, 2020:

Assam has joined 19 States to go into complete lockdown mode following the central Government's directives and accordingly, the Northeastern State has decided to shun all operations barring essential activities. Additionally, the Health Minister informed that disregarding the stringent laws could land one in prison for 6 months (during initial arrest) and 2 years (for a second violation).

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday announced the lockdown and also addressed the immediate concerns relating to the move and the preparations for a possible novel coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak in the State.

Punishment in Violating Lockdown Protocol

The Health Minister said that if any individual violates the lockdown protocol, s/he will have to serve six months of imprisonment in the initial phase. In the second phase, the imprisonment period will go upto 2 years.

Section 270 in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) will come into effect. It states, "Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease danger­ous to life —Whoever malignantly does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both."

"Only the strictest actions will save Assam from the infection. Therefore, we have decided that from tomorrow (March 24) 6 PM till the midnight of March 31, Assam will be locked down. During the lockdown, grocery, pharmacies and petrol pumps will be open. Except these, all shops and services, educational institutions be it private or public will remain closed. Emergency services like medical, financial, fire brigade, electricity will also remain open for the public," said the Health Minister.

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"However, the public cannot come out of their residences. Only on extreme emergency, one can come out. Violation of this lockdown will land you in prison for six month in the initial phase," announced the Health Minister.

The Health Minister has urged the public to ensure that their relatives coming from outside stay at home for fourteen days. "Please ensure that they don’t violate isolation protocol. Stamps will be their identification. Police will arrest them if they violate it," he said.

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From March 24 evening till March 31, all Inter-state movements, international flights and trains will remain suspended. Private vehicles will also not be allowed to ply on the roads. State borders will also be sealed to suspend movements along these areas.

"Domestic flights will be restricted. Indian Railways will remain completely shut. The last train from outside to Assam will be allowed tomorrow (March 24) last. However, treasury office, banks and ATMs will remain open since these fall under essential services," added Sarma.

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During the Assam lockdown, the Minister said, religious activities have will also have to be stopped. No more than three people will be allowed to assemble in religious places to perform religious activities in Temples, Mosques.

Speaking on the lines of Assam's preparation to deal with the coronavirus, the Health Minister said that the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury (MMC) Hospital, Sonapur Hospital and Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH) will be dedicated for coronavirus treatment in the coming days.

"Doctors, nurses and other medical staff cannot take leave during the lockdown phase, except in extreme medical emergency. GMC, MMC and Sonapur will be dedicated for treatment for coronavirus. We have stopped the operations of the Eye Department at the GMCH and shifted the facility to Netralaya. Now, anyone seeking eye treatment will go to Netralaya. OPD will also be restricted to emergency services," announced Sarma.

Briefing the mediapersons on the cuurent state of COVID-19 cases in Assam, he said, "No COVID-19 positive cases or sample have been detected in Assam so far. We had tested a total of 160 total tests till 4 PM today and out of 169, 148 have tested negative and 21 are awaited.

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The Health Minister has condemned the 'Janata Curfew' incident at 5 PM. "People came out in procession at 5 PM. Whereas the Prime Minister had asked to stay in their respective balconies. This act has hurt us. Now, everyone is at risk. Corona is a dangerous virus. Anybody above 60, is at huge risk. In Italy, an entire generation has been wiped away. There is full possibility of catching corona. Any youngster who has diabetes, heart problems, anybody having other ailments can also be infected with corona. This attitude that corona will not hit you is not going to help. So, start helping your family members by staying away from your parents and grandparents."

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