Amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, cases in India have risen greatly in recent days, with the total tally inching closer to the 5 lakh mark, many states have begun taking precautionary measures to curb the spread of the virus.
After Mizoram recently extended the 'total lockdown' in the state till the end of June, now, another north-eastern state has followed suit. On Friday, Assam announced a "complete lockdown" for specific parts of the state that will go into effect for two weeks starting from Monday, June 29.
This will apply to all areas under the Kamrup Metro district which includes Guwahati.
As per an NDTV report that quotes a presser given by the state's Health Minister, only pharmacies and hospitals will be open next week in Guwahati. Banks will open only for limited time periods. Reportedly, Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has urged people to "finish your shopping" by Sunday in anticipation of the lockdown. The situation would be re-evaluated after one week of lockdown.
Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had added that a night curfew would be imposed across the state for 12 hours -- from 7 am to 7 pm. This will go into effect from Friday itself.
For those needing to travel, Sarma has reportedly, said that air or railway tickets can be used as passes.
As per the data given on the website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday afternoon, there have been more than 4,90,400 cases recorded till date. Of these, 189463 cases remain active. 15301 people have also passed away. The live COVID-19 tracker maintained by the John Hopkins University indicates that as of now India is the fourth most affected country in the world.
