Graded unlocking in Assam from today

GUWAHATI: Assam on Tuesday announced unlocking of the seven-week partial lockdown imposed during the ongoing second wave of Covid-19 from Wednesday with reduction in curfew timings by one hour in Guwahati and by four hours in eight districts where the situation is comparatively better. In the remaining 24 districts, curfew will continue from 1 pm to 5 am. All educational institutions will remain closed till June 21.

According to the new SOP, curfew will be from 2 pm to 5 am, instead of the present 1 pm to 5 am daily, in Kamrup (Metro) district considering the decreasing trend of cases. Government and private offices, shops and commercial establishments, restaurants, dhabas and other eateries, restaurants operating within a hotel or resort and sale counters, showrooms etc of cold storages and warehouses will be functional till 1 pm in the district instead of noon and 4 pm in the eight comparatively safer districts with less than 400 positive cases in the last 10 days.
Health minister Keshab Mahanta, while announcing the first unlocking SOP, said Cachar, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur and Nagaon districts, where the total number of cumulative cases and per day cases are still showing high numbers, will be under close watch till June 21 and if the situation does not improve, harsher measures could be imposed in these districts.
Inter-dist transport service ban still in force
The ban on all inter-district transport services and movement of people to and from other districts will remain in force for one more week. Other restrictions, including odd-even formula for plying of vehicles in urban areas, declaration of containment zones etc and exemptions, will also continue to remain in force.
All government and private employees, who have taken both doses of Covid-19 vaccine, have been allowed to attend office mandatorily from Monday.
In case the test positivity of Covid-19 reaches 5% or more in urban areas and 10% or more in rural areas in one week, the district magistrates concerned have been empowered to notify such areas as containment zones.
Unlike complete lockdown in the first wave, the state this time has imposed only partial lockdown with window of several hours during forenoon. When cases increased, the government also increased curfew timings — from nine hours night curfew initially to 17 hours at a later stage.