Assam: Bongaigaon District to be Declared as 'Red Zone' after COVID Tally Rises to 5

Guwahati, April 30, 2020:

Assam Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced that the Bongaigaon district will be declared a red-zone after 4 from the district tested 'positive for the COVID-19, taking the tally of cases to 5.

Surprisingly, none of the patients have any contact history with COVID patients, nor are they attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat gathering. The patients have been recognized as Anupam Thakuria of Chaparakata, Dipak Mallik of Abhayapuri Amguri second part, Babita Basfor of Swahid Bedi, and Neena Mallik of Railway Colony.

Sarma said that the containment zone with a radius of 3 kms will be declared in the localities where the cases were found. Further, he announced that the entire district will be declared as a 'red zone' due to the rising number of cases.

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Himanta Biswa Sarma said that a 'special investigation' must be carried out into these cases, as they do not have any contact-history with patients. "We cannot call it community transmission, but this is the first time that such cases have been detected which cannot be pinpointed", Sarma said.

"Slowly, till tomorrow, we will come to know if they met someone, or were in contact with outsiders; we will come to know about that tomorrow.

In the same breath, Sarma further added that the number of cases will continue to rise in the state. "We are ready. Till vaccine and medicine is not there, you cannot stop the number of cases from rising. However, the thing is, how to lessen the cases."

Assam Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who tweeted about the latest discoveries, further informed that the number of COVID-19 patients in Assam now stands at 41. While 29 of the patients have been discharged, 1 death has been reported. The number of active hospital cases stands at 11.

On April 28, a 16-year-old girl from Bongaigaon had also tested positive for the virus.

Assam Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who tweeted out about the development, informs that the latest patient is a secondary contact of a Nizamuddin Markaz attendee. “A 16-year-old girl from Salmara Bongaingaon, secondary contact of a Markaz attendee, has tested COVID positive”, Himanta wrote.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Assam Government has said that there will be no lockdown relaxation in Red Zone districts in the state, namely: Dhubri, Golaghat, Nalbari, Morigaon and Goalpara, and their adjoining areas (within a 5 km radius).

Now, all eyes will be on the Government to see what kind of relaxations are brought into effect on the 3rd of May.

Note: ‘Red Zones’ comprise of places with major outbreaks of the coronavirus while orange include places where new cases are emerging or showing a sign of decline. Extremely strict containment measures are bieng taken in ‘red zones’ while the administration will try to reduce the number of new cases in ‘orange zones’.

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