Ninety workers at Zaloni tea estate have contracted COVID-19.
Ninety workers and staff members of a tea garden in upper Assam's Dibrugarh district have tested positive for coronavirus, forcing the district administration to declare it a containment zone. A source involved in testing of the samples, however, said that close to 150 people there have contracted the virus.
The Dibrugarh district administration has shut down the Zaloni tea estate which falls under Tengakhat revenue circle.
The Circle Officer of Tengakhat revenue circle, Medical Inspector of Plantations and officials from the health department has been rushed to the area to take stock of the situation.
The garden hospital and the two vacant staff quarters have been turned into temporary isolation centers for the positive patients.
Dr. Nabajyoti Gogoi, the District Surveillance Officer of IDSP, Dibrugarh said a vaccination drive would be carried out in the garden from today apart from other measures like sanitization etc.
Tea garden-based organizations have been demanding vaccination in the tea garden areas since there is a possibility that the virus would spread faster in the tea gardens as the workers in the gardens reside in close proximity.
The district administration has ordered closure of all leased weekly market under Tengakhat Development block with immediate effect.
The Deputy Commissioner also instructed the concerned Circle officers/ BDOs to take steps to close all such markets in their respective areas if the situation demands.
Assam on Wednesday reported 55 COVID-19 fatalities, the highest single-day deaths, pushing the total number of fatalities to 1,485, according to the government.
The state also registered 4,826 new COVID-19 cases, which took the tally to 2,72,751, it said.
